The Wildest Son
by NeonPheonix
Summary: What if Luffy was mentored by Whitebeard instead of Shanks? The world is irrevocably changed, histories alter, and some characters are made unrecognizable. Having eaten the Darkness-Darkness Fruit, see how Luffy and Sabo gather a crew unlike the Strawhats together and the Wildest Son becomes King of the Pirates. AU Possible Romances in the Future
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

Wildest Son

 **AN: Sorry I don't have these characters, ideas, or copyrights to my name, or really that much money so please don't sue me.**

Prologue

Chapter Zero

In a place formerly known as the East Blue, the people live in constant fear for their very survival. 'The East' has long since become lawless territory, ever since the 'Terror' that shook the world all those years ago. Before that even the East had been the safest sea, before that the other parts of the world seemed to hold back the floodgates, kept the monsters away from the likes of Gecko or Orange. But now the Fishman Empire has spread throughout most of the East, leaving only a few corners in human control. The Government does nothing, as the East has no protection money left to pay the Celestial Dragon Fee, they are no longer a part of the World Government. Now, those heroes, few and far between as they may be are the last hope of the people of the East, ever since the Terror arrived and vanished just as suddenly, ever since the East Blue died, and the East was born.

Dozens of Fishmen from Fishman Island have come to the East, the other side of the world, simply because they want to live on the surface. It's not just the East that's come into hard times, on the Grand Line Alabasta grows nearer and nearer to Revolution, the Heirless King of Drum sits on his last leg, and a traitor sits amongst the family of the Strongest Man Alive. But these are in what may as well be a different world, one that few had dared to dream of before all hope was lost to the East, before the 'Pirate Graveyard' before the Grand Line became more hospitable than the weakest of the Blues. Now it can no longer be called blue, because it has long since been the home of terrors beyond some imaginations, the place where anything can happen at any time, not because of the weather or size or animals, but because of the monstrous forces of nature in humanoid form, capable of both miracles and irreversible plagues on humanity. This is the East, this is the search for One Piece, but first, the search for hope.

 **AN: So this is The Wildest Son, many of the characters are very different from the canon story, but with good reason. Various characters are alive when in the original story they'd been dead for years, others have been maimed or mutilated. Most affected is the East Blue, which I wanted to make much more dangerous and challenging for our main cast, and thus make the original East Blue Saga a bit more interesting without betraying the original story too much, as well as taking a pretty cliched subgenre of One Piece Fanfiction, the 'Different Devil Fruit Luffy' and bringing it to its logical conclusion. The crew will be larger than in canon but will not have all the same characters as in the original story, a few will noticeably be missing later in the story, but all with good reason.**

 **Also of note, I will respond to any reviews I get in the chapter being written at the time of the review, but I also plan to read at least one chapter of a story by each and every reviewer I get for this story. This will likely be a weekly series updated during the weekend at some point.**

 **In this format:**

 **R &R(Responses and Reviews, a section dedicated to responding to reviews):**

 **Thanks to everyone who has followed and favorited my story...**

 **Auranyx(Who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), Dreamy-Girl2016(who favorited), Newgate-D-Luffy(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), SacredFlames(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), Samira Sky(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), WayDrifter(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), ZKARYX(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), fjvo(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), lyaanatdg(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), nbolduc111798(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), Lord Knightsky(who followed), SebasOoalDemiurge(who followed), Shadowman13(who followed), erik448(who followed), hells reject 69(who followed), kingdavidtt(who followed), theonereader(who followed), and Smiley-Nami(who followed** _ **and**_ **reviewed).**

 **Thank you all, and a very special thank you to my reviewers.**

 **Awareness Bringer(Rev): "Let me guess, a general story? Still, I trust that you're making a convincing reason as to how Luffy's a Whitebeard Pirate. I can believe that he may have gone with Ace on his ship to the New World, but I never once believed that an Emperor would be bothered to go to the East Blue when Luffy's a child. Not to sound offensive by it, but I've seen to many of the above to be properly annoyed by it."**

 **(Res): Awareness Bringer, thanks for being the very first review for this story! I'm not sure what you meant by the first question but I am fully aware of how many different Devil Fruit type stories there are, and there are even a lot of 'Luffy joins the Whitebeard Pirates' stories, but I merely took one idea, Whitebeard basically replacing Shanks in his role in the story, and brought it to its logical conclusion. On him being a Whitebeard Pirate in general, he's not technically a member of Whitebeard's crew at this point, he merely has his mark, and functions as an allied crew to Whitebeard, many will mistake him for being a member of Newgate's crew, but he isn't technically. And as for an Emperor going to the East Blue when Luffy's a child, Shanks went to the East Blue in canon, while the reasoning behind that hasn't been stated in the canon story, I will explore why Whitebeard came, and it's not for Luffy. I have no idea what the last line of your review is trying to say though. I'm assuming you're saying that you've seen too many stories that feature Whitebeard going to East Blue for no reason other than seeing Luffy and that you're annoyed by it, but I'm not sure. Anyway, thanks for the read and review.**

 **Smiley-Nami(Rev): "This is good. Continue when you can."**

 **(Res): Thanks Smiley-Nami, I appreciate the support, I will probably be updating weekly on Fridays or Saturdays.**

 **kyle77776(Rev): "luffy weaker than zoro and sanji."**

 **(Res): I know you're probably trolling but actually, Zoro and Sanji are going to be stronger than Luffy in this Universe. Zoro is going to be the strongest on the crew, Sanji is going to be the fastest, but Luffy is going to be the most powerful. Thanks for the review!**

 **And without further ado, welcome to the world of the Wildest Son.**


	2. Chapter 1

Wildest Son

 **AN: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or properties. Copyright infringement is unintended as this story is purely for nonprofit based entertainment.**

There was a man who stared at the sky as white clouds sailed through, a man who was leaving a place that had been his home for his entire life. This was an adventurer destined for greatness, a terror who had already developed a reputation as one of the most dangerous beings on the planet. He was a lanky boy with a pair of torn up blue shorts, a black and white tattoo of a skull with a broad mustache adorned his barechest, it was however incomplete, needing a bit more color and two crossbones to be the full design. But the most prominent feature of the youth was a set of deep, fierce black eyes which could have bore through a thousand Naval battleships.

This was the man called the 'Terror of the East'. He would be known as the 'Wild Son', 'The Dark Emperor', and the 'Yuppie Yonko'. This is the man who would journey across the sea to become King of the Pirates. This was Monkey D. Luffy, the Wildest Son of the Strongest Man Alive.

Wildest Son

East Blue Saga

Romance Dawn Part 1/3

Chapter 1

Day 1, East Blue

On the deck of a large cruise Ship, sailors and the wealthy passengers alike stared, terrified at the sight of a bright pink ship which swept like a vibrant scar as it traversed the sea beneath it, visibly shrinking the distance between the two boats with terrifying speed. All knew that within a few minutes, the ship would practically be on top of them, and they would likely be killed soon after. The Captain of the ship, a man with a thick mustache, a sailor's cap, and dark sunglasses cried, "Men! Haul the rudder, cast the sails! PIRATES! All passengers hurry below deck!" Clearly at least as terrified as the passengers in his charge, the Captain shook as the pirate ship grew closer. He knew they had little to no hope of evading the pirates, and as he recognized the pirate's mark on the sail, he gulped and prayed. He then knew for certain their only hope for survival was surrender.

However, unbeknownst to the fearful passengers, crew, or Captain, a simple wooden rowboat had passed next to the larger cruise ship. Within the small raft there were two young men, one was a sleeping, long-legged boy in sleek pants and a blue jacket, wearing a tophat dipped over his face. The other was a skinny boy who took a rope-attached grappling hook and swung it a few times and threw it onto the portside of the ship, opposite the side of the impending pirate invasion. This young pirate tugged the rope taut, then climbed up the side of the cruise ship knowingly holding tight to the rope to avoid falling into the sea below.

As he climbed the deck, it seemed that all of the crew was too distracted by the Captain's frantic barking of orders to notice the less than imposing boy. He wore no shirt, the only thing on his chest was a sprawling tattoo of a pirate's mark, proud grin and mustache contrasting the boy's smooth expressionless face. Dark eyes focused and took in the scene watching with curiousity as the opposing pirate ship grew ever closer. While he didn't recognize the then smotheringly close invader's jolly roger this was quite the opposite reaction that the Captain of the cruise had as he took only a moment to comprehend the weight of the mark on the boy's chest. And in that one moment there was just enough time for his own boat to be rocked by cannonfire from two guns on the pirate ship now boarding them.

In shock, the Captain fell to the ground as his Main Mast was cracked in two as a cannon shot clear through it. He could hardly comprehend the scene as the mast was coming crashing down onto the deck surely about crush himself and his men. But just as the mast came down was about to make contact, the boy with the chest tattoo calmly walked over, and held his hands in the air as he moved to stand directly over top of the fallen Captain. Like thunderclouds, an inky blackness swirled and gather around the boy's fingers, the air went cold around him as heat was absorbed into the dark cloud, and the mast seemed to move toward the cloud, and vanished entirely. The sailors, who until then had not even seen the boy, saw his incredible feat as well as his tattoo.

Meanwhile the pirate ship twisted around so that it's heart-eyed duck figurehead ran parallel with the beautiful woman of the cruiser. Then while a number of hooks were thrown onto the rails of said cruise ship, the Captain of the Alvida Pirates cried, "Here we go! Time to show them the terror of 'Iron Club' Alvida, Lady Pirate of the Sea!" Alvida, the leader of her namesake crew, held the massive spiked weapon that had earned her title, and as she screamed several of her jowls and chins shook with anticipation. Alvida had a broad white hat with a red plume, and dressed in classy clothes in matching colors to her pastel ship.

At the same time her men quickly overtook the passengers and crew of the victim ship, Alvida stared at her young Cabin Boy, howling, "COBY! What are you doing?" The Captain swiftly kicked Coby, who was a small pink-haired boy with purple glasses, sent flying by the move into the wall of the cabin in the opposite ship. Soon following, Alvida flew through the air in a show of athleticism unlike what her size would indicate, and she smashed down the entire cabin as she landed just above the ducking Coby.

However, as the first few sailors were felled by the more combat-savvy pirates, what remained surrendered without the unconscious Captain's say on the main deck. However, despite all of the uniformed sailors' hands shooting up in surrender, one dark haired boy stood, arms folded across a slender chest. One of the pirates, armed with a cutlass in one hand and a pistol in the other growled, "You got a deathwish boy?" He walked closer, and a few more followed him, all devious looking characters in their own right, but the boy didn't so much as flinch as they got closer. One sniggered, "Maybe he's deaf and blind..."

"Nah this kid definitely wants to die, you can see that tattoo he's got."

"Hey kid, you some kinda pirate wannabe?"

But the boy remained silent, seemingly unaware of the pirates' fearsome presence. As the marauders grew closer to the lone maverick, they grew more uneasy and when his head suddenly shifted, all but the most stupid of the crew shook with fear as the dark, soulless eyes stared at them like a bored god. The leader, not to be undone by a mute idiot, mustered up some noticeable courage and sneered, "Do you have any idea who we are? We're the Alvida Pirates you stupid boy! What flag do you have on your chest anyway?"

Finally close enough to inspect the still silent child, the Alvida Pirate pulled away the boy's left arm, and one of the most infamous symbols that ever dared to be unfurled across even the most treacherous of seas was revealed. Stunned, the pirates froze in their tracks. An uneasy silence fell over the deck, and soon the pink-haired Cabin Boy's nervous head poked out from behind a corner to watch as even the bravest of the Alvida crew was reduced to a pile of tears and silent prayers, as not even their leader could muster up the will to beg for forgiveness ***** as they had accepted that death would be swift because of their crossing of a member of one of the greatest pirates crews in history.

It wasn't long before Captain Alvida herself completed the collection of shocked pirates on deck, however her shock was with that of her own crew as she screamed at the men, "What are you a bunch of blabbering babies? I should keelhaul the whole lot of ya! You cowardly bastards couldn't handle one brat?" Completely unaware of the difference in strength between herself and the 'brat' all of the men aboard barring the combatants in question gasped as Alvida threw herself into the air and swung her club, flying at the boy for what seemed like hours until; with mere inches from his head, a sickly, ink-like glob of darkness dripped and slithered in the palm of a casually stretched hand. This was the power of the Terror, and along with the momentum of her own jump, the Lady Pirate of the East was being forcefully dragged into a terrifying void before she even had time to realize her mistake.

Wildest Son

It was a few hours later when the sailors and passengers alike of the Cruise Ship came aboard their new vessel, brought out by a small pink-haired Cabin Boy and told of the heroics of the skinny brunet with the tattoo. It seemed that all but Coby, the Cabin Boy, had been thrown overboard, unfortunately the pirates had been reduced to using the severed mast of the cruise ship as a floatation device, their fat and horribly injured Captain rested on her back, mangled and traumatized. No one asked what their savior did to her, but no one thought they wanted to know anyway. However, as they got ready to set sail, a passenger woman had climbed onto the main sail, and painted over the heart mark, and began replacing it.

Before they could set a course, the shirtless boy called, "We need to take this boat aboard." Several sailors came over confused, the dark-haired kid pointed over board, down at a small rowboat tied to the then abandoned cruise ship with a sleeping teen as its only occupant. This was hauled up via pulley by the grateful if shocked sailors. The rest quickly got to work to set sail. While some still looked to their now conscious Captain for commands, others, along with the passengers looked to their rescuer for their next move. A small girl asked, "Are you kidnapping us ? Mister -" She shook, terrified and confused, the rest of the ship seemed to freeze as they waited for an answer. She tugged on the boy's shorts for a moment, only for out of nowhere the boy in the rowboat leapt into the air and landed right next to the tattooed pirate in one smooth motion.

He grinned cheekily, and the young girl couldn't up but stare at his 'D' shaped scar burned just below his right eye. Brightness and cheer shown in his refreshed eyes as he asked the other boy, "Well how'd it go Luffy? I see you've got our new ship and crew..." Looking around, he nearly gagged, "A – little gaudy I guess but she'll do for now." This boy knelt down, patting the girls head, he smiled again.

He then turned out and stood calling to everyone else on the boat, "Let's set sail to Shellstown, my brother and I will restock but anyone else interested in joining the greatest pirate crew on the face of the planet, you can stay with us, but to everyone, welcome aboard!" The cruise ship sailors and passengers alike all cheered as they set sail with Alvida's ship, which now had a mighty mustached Jolly Roger painted over the sail where the former Captain of the ship's mark had been.

A few minutes went by with the blond cheerily talking to anyone who was grateful to the two brothers, who admittedly looked nothing alike. Coby approached the dark haired pirate who leaned against the cabin, his presence was, while not quite scary was not as welcoming as the merriment of his sibling. As he got closer he noticed a red scar of the letter 'D' just below his ear, slightly hidden by his mane of hair on his neck. The older boy must have felt the former Cabin Boy's eyes, because he turned and gave a slight smile, his eyes much more gentle than they had been when they stared down his enemies before, he murmured, "Do you have any ambitions?"

"What do you mean?"

"Any dreams, a goal that you want more than anything?"

Coby shuffled nervously for a second, then managed to choke out, "I – I want to be a Marine."

"You have to say it proudly, call out your dream like it's your last breath, fight for it each time you say it, promise it to yourself and the world."

"I WILL BE A MARINE!" Coby shouted, drawing the attention of the crowds, but soon they returned to Sabo, was laughed, "Sorry I missed all the action, Luffy and I bet on who could eat more food before we left our island, I lost so I had to row the whole time." Someone asked what they could possibly offer in return for saving their lives, "We'll take some food, I'm starving!"

Coby couldn't help but look at the boy's, Luffy's chest. "Why isn't your tattoo finished?" He asked. Luffy smiled, explaining, "I'm Whitebeard's son, but I'm not a member of his crew yet, I'm not strong enough." Overhearing this conversation, two young women took note of that last statement.

One of the women, the younger of the two, with tanned skin and orange hair noted, "He seems pretty strong to me." She dusted her short skirt off with her calloused fingers. The elder, this one pale with blue hair laughed, "You probably think he's cute don't you Nami?" Nami, rolled her eyes and sat in a chair around a table on the main deck, and her companion joined her.

"It's awful strange that Whitebeard Pirates are this far East."

"Do you think it's got something to do with Arlong?"

"I don't think any of them would dare to bother him, the Marines don't do anything about it, and regular people definitely can't."

"He took down Alvida pretty well didn't he?"

"You and I both know she's small potatoes compared to that – thing. Even if the Whitebeard Pirates are really as strong as they say, it wouldn't matter because they're just like all the other pirates, greedy murderers. 'Hero pirates' are just fairy tales Nojiko."

Nojiko responded, "That looks like a pretty heroic fairy tale to me." However, just as they had been overhearing a conversation between two others, Nami and Nojiko had been heard by someone else. The lanky blond took off his hat before he took a bow as he walked toward the pair, "Hey there, I couldn't help but overhear you've seen my brother's heroics, and yes, we are the genuine article. But of course, you two will have to help cover us when the time comes, we are hauling after all two notorious pirates into the last great Marine Base in the East."

Shellstown has been the last hold out for justice in the East, against World Government protocol, most people have long since abandoned their homes in the wake of the Fishman Empire spreading across the former East Blue, having moved into the protection of former Captain Axe-Hand Morgan. Morgan has long since been removed from his position, but stands as hope for many people in the East, but in the town that has been in his authority for years, there is a swordswoman whose skills are nearly unmatched within the entirety of the East.

 **Author's Note...**

 ***Not to worry, more savvy pirates will call the authenticity of Luffy's tattoo into question, but in this case the ignorance of the Alvida Pirates didn't cause any major issues.**

 ****Luffy is not going to be as strong as Zoro, or as fast as Sanji in this fic.**

 *****You may notice later some differences between Luffy's personality when he is around friends or alone; this has a lot to do with his Devil Fruit, which is 'the most evil power of all'. While he will not be evil, he will be more serious and darker than in canon, he needs his friends to keep him in check.**

 **Thanks for the view and please remember to read, review, and get your game on!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Wow I just realized this chapter alone nearly doubled the size of this story in terms of word count, and also had a lot more happen, a lot more of the world is fleshed out here, and several key characters are established, while along with this post I've made a few edits to the two prior chapters, clearing some wording up etc., nothing major has changed but I thought I'd make anyone interested aware. The description has been slightly changed once again, but I hope everyone enjoys, and without further adieu, Chapter 2 of the Wildest Son.**

Wildest Son

 **AN: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or properties. Don't sue me please.**

Romance Dawn Part 2/3

Chapter 2

Day 1, Shellstown

Arriving at the bustling port-city/Marine Base, the motley ensemble of two pirates, two thieves, a Marine wannabe, sailors, and cruise ship passengers who had come off their failed voyage well enough. Few injuries had befallen any of them beyond skin deep scratches and the like, so the Captain of the now sunken vessel grinned like a kid in a candy store as his men pulled the current ship into port. That is, until a platoon of Marines lined up on the dock, one yelled, "Give up Alvida Pirates! You cannot dock here unless you're turning yourselves in! The Marine Company under Captain Morgan does not take prisoners in war!" A cadet next to the shouting man whispered, "Um – Rokkaku, I thought we were required to take prisoners in such an occurrence?"

"I know but maybe they'll go away, we can't afford to lose any men, Petty Officer."

"When did Lady Alvida change her mark sir?"

From the former Alvida Pirates ship, a white flag replaced the skull and crossbones that had previously flown high and proud, the surrender offering eased the seamen a great deal; and when a rowboat filled with women, children, and two sailors to row started to come ashore their worries were nearly entirely vaporized. As two burly tattooed sailors helped the women out of the boat, they explained. However, Rokkaku's tan skin went pale as a ghost as he seemed to notice the Mast for the first time. A fearsome two boned Jolly Roger was thrown like a scar over the flapping sail, a proud mustache and a devious smile played into the Marine's heart. While he'd never seen the ship of an Emperor before, he didn't want to make this his first.

Wildest Son

An odd duo sauntered through the streets which had 'Marine' flags on every corner. While one was a man with closely cropped dark hair and a flower-like tiara around his head, the other was a more low key woman, who while being relatively plain looking compared to her flamboyant partner was ravishingly beautiful, long dark hair flowed to her shoulders and a fierceness decorated her eyes. Their clothes made them stand out even more, as the man wore lipstick and a swan-themed pink get-up with a thick bottom and flats for shoes, the woman wore a gi that looked like it had once been white in a past life, but bore no resemblance to that particular level of cleanliness at that point. Upon closer inspection there was a thin layer of grass stains, mud, and even traces of blood on it, as well as some flecks of such substances on her otherwise pristine looking face. The most striking thing about the woman was the way she carried herself, and not just the purposeful confidence that guided her every motion as she moved, but also in the way her hand was never far from the perfectly shined white hilt of a beautiful katana which was sheathed into clean ivory wood.

The man looked her up and down, muttering, "Once I find my crew we can get you some fresh clothes sister, because you need some serious wardrobe advice." The girl shrugged him off sullenly, mind elsewhere. The man pressed, "Excuse me? I'm talking to you. You've been quiet since I nearly chipped a nail hiking through the woods to find you. Boss Zero wants us to report for duty as quickly as possible, but that's weeks away so we might as well keep each other company, and I do mean better company than you gave that dog back there."

"You talk enough to keep me and yourself company 2, and that was a feral wolf, no dog."

"WHAT? That's the only thing you've said except, 'Why are you here' and 'we need supplies' to me since I've met you Ms. Independence Day, I think you could afford a little more kindness if you ask me, unless you've gone savage from all those years with only that sword of yours for company."

"Let's just keep walking 2."

"Why have you been in the woods for so long anyway? Don't you get sick of it, the heat, the dirt, the grime, the heat... Passion is good dear Independence – oh and what a fitting name that is, how did you and Boss Zero meet anyway? I was told he'd met you but -"

"Keep your mouth shut 2," The girl snarled as her well-trained hand went to her blade, but didn't draw it. "It's none of your business," she added. Mr. 2 gulped, but did as he was told. Despite his curiosity, he decided not to pry due to a combination of courtesy, convenience, and fear. He tried to be as courteous as he desired himself to be treated, and it was more convenient for him in that the more pleasant Ms. Independence Day was, the more pleasant the journey would be, but it was fear that largely drove him into silence, and thus, the pair walked quietly for several minutes. Somehow he knew that just as easily as she'd dispatched the massive wolf, she could have dealt with him with little more effort.

A sniff by 2 broke the silence, then he scrunched his face and gasped, "Why do you smell like dog pee?" It was just then that a platoon of Navy men who had been patrolling the street recognized her, and ran towards them calling to Ms. Independence Day, "That's the girl! She's the one we want! Miss Miss -"

Wildest Son

Clearing up the situation with the Marines, the children had exclaimed with a note of excitement that two of the Whitebeard Pirates had saved them, and that a grateful passenger had painted the Jolly Roger on over Alvida's crest which was seen to be noticeably dripping. This was just as they had been told to say, and when Rokkaku questioned them for the location of the Whitebeard Pirates, they all simply said they'd gone into the water and swam into the distance.

Of course, this was just what the blond brother had planned as the pirate crew of two got off the stolen ship and onto the dock. The golden haired buccaneer wore a dark jacket with a long pipe hidden within the folds of his coat, while the brother had been coaxed into wearing a light wrapping of bandages around his torso so as to hide the damning tattoo. As the siblings walked by the Marine in charge, they overheard him say, " - Morgan's going to want us to find that damned girl first, then we can arrest the Alvida Pirates and salvage the Cruise Ship. That is, if what the passengers say is true, but I doubt even a pirate from Edward Newgate's crew would show up in the East just to beat on a small fry like Alvida and leave peacefully." The blond elbowed his brother, "Hey Luffy, sounds like we've got a fan." Luffy smiled, then shrugged, "I don't know Sabo, but we need a new ship."

"Why, we can't just steal Alvida's?"

Luffy said nothing but pointed at the fluorescent pirate ship and looked at him as he would a boy struggling with basic math. Of course, this was a look usually reserved by Sabo for Luffy as the latter struggled with basic math, but this was Luffy's ship, and thus Luffy's obvious answer. The two walked down the dock toward the active town when Sabo beamed, "Well alright since you don't want Ace to make fun of you, we'll just take our rowboat and find a sailing ship later. But right now we need to worry about supplies and finding a crew to sail it."

"Yeah you're right."

"- Hey what about that girl the Marines were talking about? I bet she's strong if she's got the Captain of the base riled up."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because a crew is like family, you don't just pick a stranger you've never even met and invite them onto your crew. ***** "  
Sabo agreed thoughtfully with his brother's philosophy, and then a familiar pink-haired former Alvida Pirate Chore Boy ran up and stopped just so he could walk beside them. Luffy smiled, but Coby, being Coby was worried.

"Luffy, Sabo, what are you guys doing here? This is Marine HQ in the East, and not just any Marine Base, this is run by Axe-Hand Morgan. Shellstown hasn't been attacked by the Fishmen in years, Morgan runs a tight ship and keeps almost everyone in this part of the sea aligned. He's been Captain since at least the Drought," Upon mentioning that particular event, Sabo flinched, but Luffy stayed quiet as he listened to Coby express his thoughts.

"Morgan is nobody to mess around with, and if you guys know what's best for you, you'll get out of here, I don't care how strong you are, this town is way too dangerous for you guys to be around."

Wildest Son

Lines of Marines combed the streets, but couldn't find either the girl, or the strange looking man she was with. This was due to the pair having been sheltered by a kindly bearded old man who was missing most of his teeth. 2 patted his shoulder thanking him with a shout, "Thank you kind man! We were almost caught back there!" Ms. Independence Day slapped her partner on the back of the head hissing, "Be quiet you idiot, we're being _hunted_! So, don't go yelling all willy-nilly."

The old man chuckled, "I saw you save that girl from that wild wolf, if it wasn't for you - well I just don't know what would've happened. Those Marines were all on high alert from that ship they saw on the Horizon, some big bad pirate they said, but it was a load of hooey, just some passenger cruise ship that had an accident." Independence Day nodded, but didn't say anything, _I wouldn't have gotten into this mess if that damned Zero hadn't sent for me. That bastard Fishman is going to pay either way though._

Continuing, the elderly fellow seemed to realize something, "But, why didn't you pull out your sword? You swung it like a pro but you didn't even take it out of that sheath! Sword swingin' like that hasn't been seen since -"

"We should be going now," Ms. Independence Day interrupted and started for the door, gesturing for 2 to follow. Looking out a window, the swan fanatic cheered, "The Marines are gone!" But the old man went on like he hadn't heard either of them, reverently praising the girl, "You're a master, you make that blade dance like an art -"

"Hey! _I_ dance as an art!" 2 interrupted, "Why can't you and Indie – wait, I've decided that once you come under my wing as my understudy, your swan name's gonna be Indie!"

"You want your wings cut, 2?"

"You're just jealous because you're an ugly duckling."

As the pair left his home, the old man sighed, "Not very often anything interesting happens in this town, always just more refugees, it's nice to see some people _leaving_ Shellstown for a change, but it's dangerous out there, I sure hope those two can handle themselves. This place might be cramped but at least we're safe."

Wildest Son

As they left a general store and got onto the crowded streets, Sabo and Luffy walked back toward their rowboat. They walked quietly, with Sabo occassionally stopping to beam an award winning smile at passersby, who all seemed pleasant enough. They were then stopped suddenly when a small girl tugged on the front of Luffy's shirt as she and her mother passed by, both wearing worn aprons stained in alcohol and food. Sabo's stomach growled, but he stayed quiet. The girl asked, "Did you hear the girl who saved me from that wolf? She used her sword so good!" Sabo smiled down at her, Luffy did as well after he saw his brother. "No I didn't, it's good that you're safe though." Sabo gave her mother a nod and they went along their way.

They were nearly out of earshot when just as she grabbed her mother's hand the little girl asked, "Did you see that boy's tattoo mommy?"

Realizing his bandages had come loose, Luffy hurriedly tried to tie them up tight again, only for two Marines marching toward them to notice, and call, "PIRATES!" Sabo slapped his foreheard and pulled the pipe out from his coat and sighed, "Damn it Luffy." And Luffy sighed as he unbound his entire torso, revealing the Jolly Roger in its entirety. Sabo dove headfirst into one of the men, knocking him into a flower pot and smashing it with his body. A swift twirl of his pipe smacked the other in the jaw, dizzying him just long enough for a kick to the gut from Sabo to knock him to the ground as well.

"Good thing Coby's not around to see this, I hope his enlistment went well!" Sabo quipped as the two brothers now sprinted toward the docks, only to turn a corner and come face-to-barrel chest as Sabo went headlong into the bulging tree trunk mass of a man, literally bouncing off him. Sabo gulped as he took in the entirety of the man, who was easily three feet taller than either him or his brother, and was built like a brick stackhouse, with one hand large enough to engulf Sabo's head, and the other stopping just short of his elbow and a prosthetic replacing it, a massive axe-head on the end where his right appendage should be. Luffy took note of the steel bottom jaw the man also had, and eyed the axe instinctively.

"You go high I'll go low?" Sabo asked, and before he could answer both had to dodge a mighty swing of the Axe-Hand that gave the massive Marine his epithet, his blue jacket flowing in the wind over his otherwise barechest. Sabo then slid between the man's legs, and brought his pipe horizontal just in time to catch the man's shins and bring the behemoth down. As the man fell, Luffy delivered a fierce uppercut to his throat, winding the man. As the man got to his knees choking, eyes watering he finally caught his breath with a swift kick of a steel-plated boot into Sabo's own leg, bringing the boy down faster than reasonable for a man of the marine's size. He swung a meaty fist into Luffy's stomach, driving the boy back and grunted, "I am former Marine Captain Morgan Chop ****** : My town has been safe from the Fishman menace my entire tenure as it's leader, since well after the Government abandoned this entire region, I kept my people safe. I do not intend two idiot pirates like yourselves to spoil my perfect record."

Morgan wiped his face, turning so that he no longer had his back turned to Sabo, who was getting back to his feet. These were one of the times when the renegade Marine regretted the loss of his hand, and begrudged himself for letting his son practice with his pistol today. He held his axe out in front of Sabo, who held his pipe out, and started to spin it around while rotating which hand held it. Luffy on the other hand, cracked his neck and locked eyes with the man, a sharp note of indifference shocked Morgan, "Am I boring you welp?" He asked, before trying to bring a fist into the side of the boy's head while at the same time blocking a blow from the blond's pipe on his other side with his axer. Luffy kneed the man in the jaw, which led to Morgan start to laugh, only for the pirate's leg to kick out and into the man's chest, and Sabo slamming his shoulder into the man's stomach, and together the boys knocked him down. Taking full advantage of the situation, just as both Luffy and Morgan landed, the boy held the man in a chokehold, holding one arm in between both his legs as Sabo knowingly held the more dangerous appendage down onto the ground.

Morgan furiously rocked back and forth like a pent up bull, attempting to throw the attackers off, the fugitives must be brought to justice! But slowly his head grew cloudy and his eyes became heavy, and as the struggle wore on it wore his tense muscles out, relaxing slowly but surely. He growled, roaring at them nearly frothing at the mouth from pure rage but he fell unconscious soon enough. Luffy didn't loosen his grip. Sabo muttered, "We can let go I think," but Luffy shook his head, "He's probably faking,"

However clearly their conversation wasn't loud enough because a pink-haired Marine hopeful ran up to them from behind and kicked Luffy in the back screaming, "YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Somewhere the boy had found a knife, which he swung wildly at his former friend. Luffy breathed in, then let a shadow coil around his right hand, and smoky black swirled around and covered his hand entirely, and he swung that hand at the knife, only for it to vanish, and the blackness just as suddenly. Coby stared at his tightly gripped fist where the knife had been, then looked back at Luffy, whose eyes clearly didn't understand what the boy was upset about. But then just before anyone of them could break the stillness, a massive entourage of Navy men swarmed the scene, what few civilians left outside in sheer shock retreated behind things or into buildings, and the pirates knowingly followed, diving through an open window in a bakery, and retreated into the other side and out the door, with the entire Marine Base right behind, and a former friend seething with hatred.

Wildest Son

Deep within the forest, beyond the stresses of the bustling Shellstown, beyond the noises and tradesmen and little girls, was quiet, was quiet and nature and tall trees. A place where a person could get lost, and, more importantly, lose themselves. This was where Mr. 2 had found his partner, who had been acrobatically rolling through grass and and seeming to dance with her sword, still sheathed in her hands. This was a clearing well past even those made by the expansions of the city, where lumber had been cleared for more buildings, to make Shellstown into the true HQ of the East, but this was a much more precise, much more unusual clearing. It was akin to a mass trampling, like a stampede had run through, but the grass hasn't had the chance to grow back. This was a stampede of prolonged months unto years of stomps and kicks and flips that have worn away at the ecosystem, this was the place where a young girl had come seeking betterment, where she'd rediscovered her own skill and talent. Where she'd gone from a sudden outsider to a natural occurence in that part of the wood, where wildlife would gather her in her surreal dance and gaze at the remarkable moves. This place was no real clearing, no plain or city extension this was the side effect of ambition, one of the casualities of a dream, and those were not something that Miss Independence Day would take lightly, in respect to the animals and life she'd disturbed, two words were carved into the center where the grass had gave way into dirt, and the dirt into gray dust-rock, 'For Them'.

Wildest Son

The two brothers in piracy raced down the street, having made quite a gap between themselves and the Marines within Shellstown, while then the boys had noticed that the streets were completely empty other than themselves and the Marines of course, Sabo didn't see a single soul, not even one that he recognized from the cruise ship from earlier that day. For some reason everyone in town had retreated into buildings and homes, doors locked as the boys ran by. He shrugged, a likely common response for pirates.

As they got closer to the docks, both pirates spotted a familiar short bespectacled boy who stood in between them and their boat. Sabo and Luffy skid to a stop before they plow into them, Sabo quickly spinning around to note the distance between himself and the Marines, who were still a good ways away from him and his brother. Luffy's eyes never left Coby, who shouted with tears rolling down his face, "How could you fool me into trusting you! You're monsters! Fugitives! I saw the kind of power you used Luffy! Everyone in town knows you're the Terror! People died! People drowned because of you!" Luffy didn't budge, didn't blink, as spittle flew from Coby's frustrated mouth. The boy continued begging, "Why were you going to kill Morgan? If he died we'll all be easy pickings for Arlong and his men! If you'd done that then East Blue could never be freed from Arlong!"

"Then I'll defeat Arlong. I'll kill him and this Empire, I'll bring it down."

"Like I'm supposed to believe you! Why are you always lying? Why did you even bother saving me, or pretending to believe in me? Or my dream!"

"We were never pretending," Luffy said as both he and Sabo brushed past and they started to row, just as the Marines charged onto the dock. They fired their rifles but the brothers had already gotten far enough away. Sabo mentioned, "Hey ya know if we had taken Alvida's ship with us we wouldn't have had the man power to use it anyway with just the two of us." Luffy didn't say anything, just watched as Coby cried out, "I swear, Monkey D. Luffy, Terror of the East, someday, no matter how long it takes or if I have to hunt you down to the ends of the Earth, I WILL BRING YOU IN AND BECOME A GREAT MARINE!"

 **AN:**

 ***A key difference between the Wild Son and the Strawhat.**

 ****Chop was supposed to be Morgan's original name but I figured Morgan Helmeppo sounds fine so I just gave him that name from the SBS.**

 **Thanks to ASL D Brothers(who both followed** _ **and**_ **favorited), Harleyboy022(who followed), Tgm102(who both followed** _ **and**_ **favorited), Vongola10(who both followed and favorited), dagalo(who both followed** _ **and**_ **favorited), Uzumaki Dendi(who favorited), and sdkop21(who favorited).**

 **R &R**

 **Awareness Bringer(Rev): "A general story is a common term for something that all but forbids romance. And I rather like romance, preferably the straight ones. I don't think Shanks was already an Emperor when Luffy was seven, but I just don't see someone as influential as Whitebeard sailing the East Blue for whatever reason."**

 **(Res): Ahhh thanks for clearing that up and thanks for coming back and reviewing again, I do intend to have a few relationships in this fic, mainly UsoppxKaya on the main crew with a ship with Sabo, and another one with Zoro, though Sabo's depends on if someone joins the crew while Zoro's I haven't decided which would be better between which other character. I want to have a bit more relationships than in canon, but Luffy will have none since he is canonically an asexual, but I will likely have a few gay ships involving characters that are canonically gay. While I'm not sure whether or not Shanks was an Emperor during the first chapter of One Piece, he was extremely powerful, having already gained his main crew and Conqueror's Haki, as well as being the Apprentice to the King of the Pirates and he wondered around East Blue even getting some of his crew from there(Yasopp). Anyway, Whitebeard's going to East Blue will not be for Luffy, but it will be explained very soon in this story. Thanks again for the review and sorry for the paragraph's worth of response.**

 **SebasOoalDemiurge(Rev): "So, when you say that Zoro is going to be the strongest, is that physical strength, or would he beat Luffy in a fight? Considering you said that Luffy is going to be the most powerful, I'm guessing that its physical strength. However, the way you said it left it a little ambiguous."**

 **(Res): Firstly, thanks for the review it's greatly appreciated, and in response to the subject of it yes, Zoro will be physically stronger, but will not be able to beat Luffy in a fight. In a one on one fight if going all out, this version of Luffy will be able to beat anyone that is going to join the crew, and on the subject of Zoro, a certain limitation of his during this story will greatly affect his fighting ability, but I don't want to get into that as his character is the one I'm looking most forward to, other than Luffy's himself. I will edit the Prologue to explain.**

 **The next chapter will likely be posted on Saturday, thanks for the view and please remember to read, review, and get your game on!**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: You may notice that there's even more words this chapter than the last post, I'm not doing this on purpose I just think that's interesting, but I don't imagine there being mountains of text in later chapters, I'll probably top out around 10K each chapter, sorry if that bothers anyone I guess XD.**

Wildest Son

 **AN: Hope you haven't forgotten that I don't own any of these characters or properties. Have a good day Shonen Jump, and help me have a good one by not suing me.**

Wildest Son

Romance Dawn Part 3/3

Chapter 3

In the New World

A giant of a man knelt down on one knee in deep thought. He was aboard a massive ship with a sail bearing his own mark, a skull with the same crescent mustache the muscular man had on his own face. He rubbed his tired eyes, grinning at the incredible ensemble of pirates before him. "My sons, my daughters, we're heading East," Edward Newgate explained to the group, and a great deal were shocked, some even gasped, but all remained, all eyes kept trained on their Captain. He went on, "I think it's time we see how well our allies will fair on these seas alone for a while, we won't be gone long -"

"But Pops, why would we go to the East Blue? Nothing's out there, no one to fight, no treasure to find, why?" Someone in the crowd asked in a husky, nervous voice, though everyone else was hushed as this had been on their minds as well, even the most unquestioning of them had heard this thought whispered in the backs of their heads. There were dozens of people, men, women, the elderly, children, humans and races beyond some imagining of the people in the East Blue. Those of the Fishman and Merfolk persuasion were a bit more hesitant than the rest, but still listened to what their Captain had to say, albeit nervously.

 _These kids have no idea how vast even the smallest parts of this world are, how much each patch of dirt, how much each and every inch of this beautiful sea can contain. There are mysteries beyond what even Roger could have ever experienced. That Will, that Will is what we can find in the East, and with it, so much more._ Whitebeard thought to himself, then spoke after a slight cough to hush what few soft murmurs had developed in the group, "I think you all need another brother." A blond man in a purple jacket inhaled sharply, but his bird-like eyes never left his father's. Marco was the last member of the Whitebeard Pirates to question their namesake caretaker's instincts and plans. If Pops said to go to the East Blue, they would go to the East Blue, no matter why; but even the Phoenix was shocked by this. _Pops has never just decided to get another person onto the crew, they just sort of fall in, either allies or mates, but they're always family. You don't just decide to get more family though, we were just going to the East Blue to find something about Roger, that's where he was born after all, but this? This is too weird,_ Marco was in deep thought when he realized his Captain was staring at him.

Whitebeard nodded to his First Mate and walked into his Cabin. Marco dusted himself off and walked in front of the crowd addressing them, "Alright, anyone willing to stay behind can remain on one of the main Armada, only the flag ship will be coming, Pops has told me the plan, we'll be exploring the East in search of possible new outlets for us and something that Roger left behind, we will be sailing through the Calm Belt and will be stopping first at Loguetown, than going as far as the Goa Kingdom before returning in less than a month." As the First Division Commander concluded, a brunette with an impressive pompadour and a goattee grinned up at him, while behind him a tanned and robustly bellied man nodded up at Marco, and with that, their new mission had the support of Thatch and the man known as Marshall D. Teach.

Wildest Son

Within his cabin, Newgate pulled out an old, dusty Transponder Snail, he grumbled, "These damned things," His massive fingers fumbled around the device-creature, which squirmed and seemed to complain as much as he did. _What Roger was talking about, the Will of D, there's more to it than most know. That Marine Hero Garp, Monkey_ _ **D.**_ _Garp, was from the East Blue, just like Gol_ _ **D.**_ _Roger and Teach, he's also bearing the name as well, but he doesn't have the same ambition that Roger and Garp had. It's been a long time since I've come across a Marine like him, long time since they've made many men like him. I've got to find someone to carry that Will, the dream that never dies, that thing that Roger left behind._ As his thoughts wondered about, Whitebeard's clumsy hands still struggled with the communicator, eventually managing to punch and slide in the right combination and he put the mouth end up to his phone and murmured, "Ahoy Monkey D. Garp, I would have your hometown get their best sake ready gurararara-"

Wildest Son

Fuschia Village, Goa Kingdom

The wind blows from the East, and the village is at peace. However, just outside a booming bar, a few pirates watched as a small boy challenged, "Whaddya want with my grandpa? If you want a fight I'll give it to you!" This boy wore a t-shirt with a drawing of anchor written on it, his black hair wild on his head, a fierce pride in his eyes burning with as much adventurousness as it was with frustration. Voices thundered from the bar, nearly overpowering the boy's aggrevation with the sounds of the merriment within. Four pirates were outside the bar, the one being questioned by the child was none other than Edward Newgate himself, who'd asked the kind bartender about Monkey D. Garp as he and his crew and thirstily rushed in. They'd quickly filled the entire establishment, but luckily most of the town had quite literally run for the hills when they saw the flag and mark on the mast of the massive Gallion that came ashore. That would have been the entirety of the Village had a single tavern owner, a woman named Makino had not been determined to stay, and thus, Luffy, the young boy who'd brazenly challenged the Strongest Man Alive to a fight, had also been equally made up to not leave her behind; And of course if Luffy demanded to stay, the Mayor, a middle-aged man who'd taken it upon himself to keep the boy out of trouble while his grandfather was away, was also bound to remain, though currently he was too busy taking orders and cleaning dishes and delivering liquor and beer to the occupying pirates (some of whom were far from human) to have even been aware of the youngster's circumstance.

Edward Newgate sat on a barrel, eyed the boy, and chuckled, "So this cheeky kid is Garp's grandson huh? Sure doesn't look like much," He addressed his remark to the much smaller man, Marco, beside him, who smiled cheerfully at the now even more flustered boy. The blond's bare chest showed a tattoo, the partial silhouette of his Captain's Jolly Roger, Luffy couldn't help but stare at it. On the opposite side of Whitebeard was Teach, whose potbelly extended to the point of nearly bursting his tried trousers beneath his stretched vest, he sipped out of a mug while watching the boy eagerly. Marco thought, _Teach always seems to enjoy it when these small fries think they can stand up to Pops. These things never last long anyway, might as well let the kid have his fun for a bit. I can always just heal him up like I usually do when Pops gets carried away with the fun._

The last of the quartet was the suave dandy who stood at Luffy's back, delicately cutting a steak with one hand and slicking his pompadour back with the other, and he too watched the young challenger, seeming to be completely unaware of the oddly colored, ominously glowing purple plant that was partially visible from the sack dangling from the string tied around his waist. Thatch had wanted to show off his rare prize to people on the island, to brag about the fruit; he would've gotten a kick out of the look on any of these small town hicks' faces when he explained what it was; Hell, the first island they'd stopped at in East Blue the people there hadn't even known what a Devil Fruit was, and _that_ was a trip but they'd all gone long before they even saw Whitebeard himself. _Pops's reputation sure presides him_ , Thatch sighed, then went back to watching the little fighter.

"I'm the toughest fighter in this whole Village! I can beat anyone on your stinking crew," Luffy cried to Newgate, who mockingly pretended to grow bored of the boys antics, but he asked with a glimmer in his eye, "What did you say your name was pipsqueak?"

"My name's Monkey D. Luffy!"

Marco looked at Teach, who only laughed at how easily the boy had made his declaration, and Thatch stopped chewing on his food, whilst even the bar seemed to quiet itself. A boy with the Will of D, he had no idea the weight that his own name even carried, beyond merely the familial ties to his grandfather, or even the father he'd never known, this was the thing that the Emperor had been searching for. But he played it cool, Whitebeard shrugged, "So you're going to grow up to be another uptight Marine weakling like your Grandpa huh?"

Luffy fumed, "My Grandpa Garp isn't weak! He could take you down any day of the week. And I'm not gonna be a Marine, I'm gonna be a pirate and I'm already even stronger than you are! But when I become a pirate my crew will be just as big as your's but even better!"

"Is that so boy?" Newgate got up from his seat, stretching and cracking his aching bones, "Marco if this lasts less than 5 seconds, you owe me a barrel of the best ale they've got on this island," his First Mate smirked and sighed, "You got it Pops, you cheap sonuvabitch; just go easy on the kid, will ya?"

"Oh Thatch, if it goes longer than 5 seconds, you're buying me _and_ the kid dinner."

Then the near-riot levels of noise returned to the bar, and Luffy growled, "I'll take you down, I don't need anybody to go easy on me!"

Marco watched as Luffy charged fearlessly at one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, and took a wild swing of his fist which Whitebeard easily sidestepped, and the boy fell just as harmlessly as he had appeared to be to the pirates. Thatch went back to eating, just before Luffy sprang up to his feet, this time aiming a high kick at the much larger man's right knee, only for Whitebeard to return with a backhand, which sent the boy skidding through the gravel onto his butt. "I see flies in my breakfast bigger than you boy, I'd stay down in the dirt if I were you, you get less bruised that way, little peach," Whitebeard taunted, and Thatch laughed at this.

Luffy's cheek had already inflated slightly, though he could tell the old man hadn't even broken a sweat, which only made him more pissed. The youth screamed while running at him again, only this time Newgate swept his legs out from under the boy in a move impossibly nimble for a being of his size and age. Luffy smacked his face off the dirt, only to grit his teeth and go again. _Pops left his bisento on the ship with Squard,_ Marco recalled, _He wanted to come in peace, but I guess some people will wanna fight you no matter how you look. This kid just keeps getting back up though, must be in the name, even though Pops is holding way back, a few of those hits would hurt an adult let alone some shrimpy kid..._

Then the First Mate watched as his Captain knocked the boy senseless with the open palm of his massive hand, easily knocking the boy onto his ass again, but Luffy would keep getting up, each time slightly more dirty and more bruised and more tired than before. Each time he got up, his anger burned brighter, and each time the fall would seem conclusive, but the accompanying thump would only lead to more and more of the pirates leaving the bar to watch the 'brawl' just outside the door. Thatch had scooted over for a blue fish-like thing to sit beside him, eying his half eaten steak intensely until Luffy sprang at Edward again, then everyone's attention went to them.

Fearlessly and seemingly endlessly, the young boy would charge again and again and again, no matter how hard Whitebeard would swat him, Luffy kept going, and even night fell before Luffy's will to fight did.

"You'll never be a pirate while you're so weak boy, you're not even on the same level -" Newgate attempted to finish but he felt a stiff elbow slam into his shin. While it didn't hurt, he felt the pride behind the blow; the will driven by ferocity, the potential *****. This was the same energy he'd felt when he'd come to blows with Roger all those years ago, so many times. Garp would be just the same he imagined. Marco noted the elbow, and everyone was silent, the Mayor busted out of the bar with the bartender, whose lovely green hair framed her face perfectly, as Marco saw it anyway, but neither the innkeeper nor her newfound worker could muster out a word of their protest when they saw the scene.

Luffy growled, "I will be the King of the Pirates, I'll be stronger than you ever will!" His words echoed through the now ghost-like town, the only thing attempting to pierce the palpable silence spread throughout what seemed like the entire world at that moment. _So this is what the D is,_ Marco realized, _Could this be what Pops came here for?_ Luffy was now bleeding out of a few cuts, scraped up on both knees and bruised all over, sweat soaked through his shirt, but his triumphant elbow didn't budge a microimpression of an inch, even as the milliseconds that went by were stretched to infinity.

It was Whitebeard who spoke first, cackling, "GURARARARA! And so you will Luffy, you've fought well, beating me like that -" Whitebeard crashed to the ground, howling, on his back, "This is the first time in a long time since I've been knocked on my ass! Gurarara!" He sat up, a twinkle in his eye again, Marco grinned while Thatch and Teach both laughed with their Captain. Newgate pounded his fist in the air, "Let's eat, Thatch agreed to pay for me _and_ Luffy!"

They charge into the bar, with Makino having the common sense to scamper in ahead of the crowd, while the poor Mayor was nearly trampled by the incoming pirates. Marco began to tend to Luffy's wounds, pulling out bandage wraps before the boy stopped him while he held out his hand, but the boy stopped him, saying, "I don't need any of that stupid stuff," the blond shrugged and turned to face the bar, he sat on Luffy's left, while on the boy's other side looking quite ridiculous perched on the too small stool was Edward Newgate himself, who glugged down a barrel of booze with ease, though some of the ease was likely due to it being on Thatch's meal ticket. He sighed, "Jeez, Oden sure would have loved it here, so peaceful - quiet enough for that bastard too. Curiel maybe not so much, but he's running free in the New World right now gurara."

On Marco's left, taking up the last seat at the front of the bar was Teach, who noted the crew's missing cook. _Thatch must be outside looking at the stars alone like a damned fool – Damn it, not now though, East Blue is too far from home, too far from everything for me to do myself much good by going for it now. No, not now. I have to wait,_ Teach grumbled to himself as he munched on a cherry pie, scarfing the thing down in three gulps. He scowled, but other than that, made no sign of disatisfaction. None could have imagined what he was capable of; no one on the crew could have considered the blackness that grew within his soul with each passing day.

Luffy also seemed to see the other man's absence and got up from his seat, "I wanna see what that guy with the bag is doing." He walked out the bar, and was about to be followed by the Mayor, who started after him but was grabbed by Makino, who smiled and murmured, "He's safe, don't worry."

Hearing the door of the bar creak open, Thatch looked at the boy who emerged. Still sweaty and clearly sore, Luffy trudged over, plopping to the ground next to Thatch, whose finished plate was sitting next to him on a crate. Thatch's eyes returned to the brilliantly dotted skies, a matching smile on his face, but he returned to Luffy soon enough, "Hey, do you wanna see something cool?"

Thatch undid the tight knot tying his sack to his waistband, pulling out the odd plant Luffy had seen a glimpse of earlier. He snickered, "Do you know what this is?" The boy shook his head while his mouth was agape, he stared at the purple hypnotic swirls within the odd thing, almost not hearing as the older man explained, "This is a Devil Fruit: it's a cursed fruit, and there's hundreds of different kinds, one bite and you'll get a special power, but no two are exactly the same. Only catch is, after you eat these you can't swim, when you get submerged you become so tired you can't get the energy to move. It's pretty dangerous, but the power is amazing enough to be worth it."

Following his explaination Thatch's dreamy head returned to the stars, amazed at the sight, he was about to say something else, only to hear a moist crunching sound which were followed by a gag and a groan of disgust. He looked down, seeing Luffy with a mouthful of Devil Fruit. Eyes the size of saucers, Thatch returned to normal when he saw Luffy nearly vomit, the boy choked, "That – was disgusting!" Thatch chuckled, "You know, I've held onto that thing for about a year now, it was my most prized possession..." He tossed the half eaten fruit into a waste basket as he continued.

"I read a book about it when I first found it, I didn't eat it because I didn't want to become what the book talked about, but I think whoever wrote it was full of shit. There's no power in this world that _makes_ someone evil, you become evil because of what you do with power. I'm glad you ate it Little Bro, now it's off my mind and I can worry about more important things. It'll help you get strong anyway, you just have to work for it. I didn't think I could control it, but you're strong kid, you've got a good heart, just power through, and you'll be the strongest one of us."

Following his soliloquy, Thatch looked down at Luffy, who stuttered dizzily, "You talk too much," before falling over. Power and energy crackled around him, enormity of existence flowing through his entire being like an awakening, but this was only as long as he could maintain consciousness, which soon faded along with the power.

Wildest Son

Fog filled Luffy's head as he groggily awoke. Sounds came slowly, as did the candle light at first, but he soon realized that while Makino held his hand, Marco was working over top of him, checking his IV and the medicine flowing through it. The Mayor hollered at Thatch, who accepted his scolding which acted as punishment for child endangerment, not mentioning that in court his more relevant charge would probably be piracy. Teach sat in the corner on a stool, scratching at the peeling wallpaper in the plainly decorated med bay. The scratchy cotton of the blanket over Luffy's legs was kicked out, and everyone was taken aback.

Makino dove at Luffy, holding him tight, while Marco noted, "Must have been the strain of the power: he's so young, that Devil Fruit was a lot to deal with but he'll manage." As if on cue, the towering Whitebeard knelt to come through the too short door into the only marginally taller room, he crouched to get close to the boy and he chuckled, "Gurara, you're something Little Peach, sure had your poor mother scared for a while," Newgate patted Makino's shoulder, which was still embedded into Luffy's neck. The Mayor pointedly shouted, "How can you react like that, are you going to just brush this off? Luffy can never swim again! He just ate the damn thing and now he's in the hospital, are you sure those things aren't poisonous?"

Marco chuckled, then his jacket caught fire with a teal, blue-green look and his face became bird-like for a moment, before flickering back to normal and the fires went out. "I don't think they're poisonous," He said. Luffy cleared his throat and corrected, "That's Makino she just takes care of me, I don't have a mom."

"Gurara, we're all children of the sea pipsqueak. Family doesn't have to be who you're born next to; but sometimes it's who you choose," Newgate explained, and got even closer, his breath nearly mingling with Luffy's own, "Gather your own crew if you want, but know that when we see eachother again, we can be your family. I have to leave soon, but we will meet again, we're sons of the sea, bound by it's call to follow our hearts and with it our dreams. Make your dream come true: run free, leave this town and all of it behind. You make sure to follow your heart and never regret it; when you're ready you can have a family with us."

Marco nodded when Luffy looked from his promised father to him, then the tired boy looked at Makino nervously, who smiled and kissed his cheek, "You can be whatever you want to be -" As she was saying this, a man came in with a spider tattoo and an oddly long tongue, his pale skin glistened in the candle light, "Sorry Pops, what did I miss? Jozu and I were playing cards but -"

Newgate smiled and introduced, "This is our new brother, Monkey D. Luffy."

Wildest Son

It was a few days later, in the middle of the night, when the Whitebeard Pirates were about to leave Fuschia. 'The New World is waiting' Newgate had said before bidding farewell to the boy who'd fought him so fearlessly, though he was then being forced into hard labor scrubbing all the dishes while the Mayor commandeered over him, roaring, "No Fuschia Villager is going to go out and become a 'son of the sea' or whatever, no pirate life for you Luffy!" Yet somehow everyone knew, from the gentle Makino to the caring Mayor, to the now quiet Luffy, that it was destiny that he become a pirate, an unstoppable force beckoned him forward, but not quite yet. He had to get stronger. All of the Whitebeard Pirates had their own presence, their own tangible power that towered over Luffy's own, but he knew he could match them all, in time.

Waiting was fine with Edward, who then had to wait no longer, since just as he watched the last of his men load up their cargo onto the ship in the far away dock, a broad shouldered, barrel chested mammoth of a Marine walked up the beaten path toward him. Graying hair was on his head, close cropped yet somehow still wild, not unlike a certain boy Newgate had only recently gotten to know. Whitebeard recognized the living legend before him, appreciated his easy gait, his relaxed look, but didn't mistake easiness for weakness, he could sense the power bubbling just beneath the surface of the man before him. "I met your grandson Garp," Newgate began, "It's been a long time, since you chased us all so many times."

"Yeah, you're right about that, but it seems I ought to chase you outta town again. Luffy doesn't want any part of that business you're in."

"You and I both know otherwise. He's got the soul of a pirate, he's going to be the best of us."

"That Will, it always carries, it takes the strongest caliber to fight off it's temptations."

"You're right, the temptation to do nothing of note within this world."

"Next time we meet, it'll be under different circumstances Newgate."

Wildest Son

Day 1 Shellstown

As they got on the flambouyant paddle ship, Ms. Independence Day eyed the gaudy goose figure head with a note of what could have been mistaken for sea sickness. Mister 2 practically shoved her aboard, though he was careful not to touch one of the less than appealing stains on her grimy gi. He shivered at the very thought, but nearly jumped out of his skin when his men all thunderously cheered, and welcomed the two of them aboard. It was soon that they started to set off, and Mister 2 ordered, "Girl, change into something a little – less smelly," She nodded and walked off just as the boat began to head out.

2 wondered, _Why does a girl so young carry such a burden on herself? A maiden should be freed of such things, allowed to fly like a beautiful goose not a shackled up pidgeon!_ As if reading his mind, Miss Independence Day whispered just behind him, "I owe Zero a debt, I'm going to work it off." But Bon Clay didn't press his partner, and she walked off.

It was then that two women made their presence known to the ballet aficionado, one with bright orange hair and tanned skin, the other a pale blunette, the tan girl seductively sighed, "Sorry we had to stow away _Captain_ ," She winked, and the other continued, "We just really needed a ride to the next island, there were too many people for us to get comfortable here." Clay laughed at the girls' attempts, waving them off, "Not to worry ladies, Orange Town is on the way, we'll drop you off tomorrow morning, that boy with the scar and the other one sure caused a stir in this place didn't they?" Nami elbowed her sister playfully, who just ignored her and blushed.

Wildest Son

In a Different Time

Anger. Rage like molten lava crawled up his stomach and creeped into his throat with the vomit that soon came as well, mingling with the wet sand of the beach. Fury unlike any he'd felt before, not the immature pouts he'd had, or the frustrations he'd dealt with prior, a new peak of wrath that threatened to block out his vision entirely with bloody red. This was a fire large enough to boil the ocean.

Sadness. This was a cold chill that cracked his skin and strangled his breath, frosted over his heart and choked out his tears. Eyes stinging like frostbitten fingers, the tears would not come any longer, his heart was nearly shattering as it beat as a senseless drum against a stiff pair of lungs, and breath clutched closer to his chest than even a birth of a child would have forced. This was a blizzard that engulfed the world like an Ice Age.

Loneliness. A howling wind echoed through his ears, cries for help nearly lost to the storm of emotions. He was alone, kneeling on a beach, wishing _he_ was here. What was he supposed to do? The overwhelming cyclone enveloped him easily and indifferently, and just as easily he figured he could crawl over to the water, shove his face in and wait, yet when he got there, the only thing he put in was his hands. This loneliness was a tornado, ripping apart his soul like paper in a whirlwind as a ship drew further and further from him.

This was fleeting though, because as he stuck his hands in the water, then came 'The Drought'.

 ***He felt THE D.**

 ****At this point, Speed Jiru, Fossa, and Izo haven't joined Whitebeard's crew yet.**

 **AN:**

 **As always a special thanks to all my new favorites and followers, but especially those that have kept keeping up with this story, we're now well over 1,000 views! But anyway, thanks to AmaltheaLuchiaAizen(great name not sure if the last bit is a reference to Bleach or Buddhism but it's dope either way honestly(thanks for following** _ **and**_ **favoriting)), Drachenmeister(for following** _ **and**_ **favoriting), El Pirato(for following** _ **and**_ **favoriting), Neo gen x(for following), Tombs456(for following and favoriting), sudhush(for favoriting** _ **and**_ **following), wjgr(for following and favoriting), Aino Mafin(for following), Bluemoonyue(for following), firewolf467(for following and favoriting), Bape(for favoriting), Scaunders(for favoriting), diwinter(for favoriting), and midoKchie(for favoriting!).**

 **R &R:**

 **For the sake of simplicity I'll be listing both of 'Matt's reviews as one just because they're prety short.**

 **Matt(Rev): Meh. I mean making Morgan a good guy?! He's one of the first baddies that's shown and you've got him as nice? Also I'm really confused about who this Mr. 2's(Izo) is, along with whose good and whose bad. Also what happened to Alvida, the last we saw of her Luffy used his fruit and sucked her up.** _ **second review:**_ **Sorry was a little woozy when reading Mr. 2's description. He's same as canon.**

 **(Res): Hmm while I do understand your thoughts on Morgan, I feel the contrast between this story and canon would improve the integrity of this world. This is completely different than in canon, all because of a single incident slightly described in this chapter, I hope everyone understands that. Mr. 2 is the same Mr. 2 from canon with minimal change in backstory. Whose good and whose bad will largely be a case by case basis with Luffy's opinion and the society's opinion of them being the key to how they're going to be viewed by the story overall. I was pretty sure I had a brief sequence of Alvida somewhere but I've been through more than 5 drafts of this story, so I'm not sure if it ended up there or not, at a later date I'll have to read through it. Anyway, thanks for reading this far and reviewing twice, I hope you stick with the story despite the changes I've made to the canon.**

 **jurassicdinodrew(Rev): I sure like it if Vivi, along with Carue the duck, Conis and Su and Carrot and Jinbei will join the crew as well, those girls might be able to keep Luffy calm as Vivi did on Drum kingdom and Conis can use her harp music to smooth-en the tense in the crew if that happens, just an idea and all, well good luck with this story.**

 **(Res): Yeah it'll be a little bit before Vivi is introduced into the story, I do have a little something planned for her. Conis and Su are a bit less likely to be very relevant to the story, while the jury is still out for Carrot, though I do have a plan for Jinbe. Luffy will be mostly calmed just by the presence of friends and/or family, when he's alone that's when there's something to worry about, great idea with Conis and her Harp though, I'll do something with that. Thanks for the good wishes and hope you enjoy the story!**

 **Scaunders(Rev): Thumbs up**

 **(Res): Thanks for the review, I hope you decide to keep reading and enjoy the rest of the story.**

 **El Pirato(Rev): will you have canon characters with original Devil Fruit powers?**

 **(Res): I currently don't have any plans for original devil fruits to be in this story, nor do I plan for any OC's, but you might find it interesting that in early drafts of this story I had Sanji eat a Devil Fruit that was actually eaten by someone else in the story, a person who will** _ **not**_ **be appearing in the next Saga, despite his usual placement in the story, though you can make of that what you will.**

 **Mr. Soze(Rev): Call it a prologue, I call it a bad chapter. this introduction could have been done better by adding it to chapter 1 or just not adding it at all. Its better to show what you wanna say through events and story plot rather than just writing out what we can come to expect from your story.**

 **It was just 2 paragraphs and double that of author's notes. Not a fan of doing that.**

 **But, the concept as presented in the summary, could be interesting.**

 **(Res): Thank you for the review, but especially thank you for the criticisms. I was truthfully looking most forward to responding to this review out of the four, though they were all very much appreciated, I especially appreciate criticism in my writing so that I can keep growing my craft adn improve. I do see what you mean by it being a bad chapter, I originally planned the Prologue to be a little thing from Coby's POV but I changed my mind last minute and ended up being basically a castrated version of my original layout, thanks for the review, and I understand what you mean by the long AN, I just wanted to explain how I planned to layout my story in a small little semi-chapter. Thanks for the praise as well, and thanks again for the review.**

 **Sorry if I missed anyone in my follows/favorites/review shout outs I'm doing most of this section at about 2 AM so I'm a bit out of it when it comes to details but I'm wondering if people would prefer these long ass ANs of mine to be at the beginning of each chapter... I wouldn't think so because if you just wanna skip to the good stuff you just gotta get it real quick and go, then you can read this mountain of stuff afterwards if you want, but at this point I don't know. Thanks again!**

 **Well, there's another chapter, see you next time and remember to read, review, and get your game on!**


	5. Chapter 4

**R &R:**

 **SinOfTheFox(Rev): Where'd this story go? :(**

 **(Res): Thanks for the concern, but what with life and everything going on simply put I haven't had time to write as much as I would have liked but this chapter should be EXTRA long and packed with stuff happening. Hope you enjoy and thank you for keeping up with this story. I intend to read one of yours once I have a bit more time.**

 **AN: Jeez it's been too damn long boys and girls. Hope you all haven't lost too much interest in this story because it's been in the back of my mind for months now. I am so pumped for these upcoming chapters, next arc will introduce some of my favorite bits of this Universe, and I hope you all decide to stick around for that! I'm hopefully going to finish this arc within by the end of November; and we can get to Baratie by the New Year, be on the look out because a ton of stuff is happening by the time we get to Sanji's introduction. I hope you all enjoy and that this was worth the wait!**

Wildest Son

East Blue Saga

Orange Town Part 1/3

Chapter 4

Day 3, Orange Town

On a gently rocking sea, two teenagers sailed in a dinky row boat for what felt like an eternity before they saw an island in the distance. The more dour of the duo rowed quietly, scowling as if in deep thought, his dark eyes matching the coal mop on his scalp. His friend - whose blond locks poked out beneath a black top hat - called out to no one in particular, "Land ho!" He grinned at his brother, who rolled his eyes at his senior's annoying habits but kept rowing toward their just then located destination.

Wildest Son

Running through otherwise abandoned streets, two women searched for a place to hide as three pirates thundered toward them from like a stampeding yoke of raging oxen. The buccaneers in question were each dressed in a circus-clown motif: one had a large red nose, another wore purple face paint, and the last had a garish green cape that flapped in the wind as he zoomed through the streets.

One screeched, "You idiots! You really thought we wouldn't know who you were didn't you!"

"This is Captain Buggy's turf!"

"No room for Arlong or any of those dirty sogs* here!"

The pair of pursued pickpockets pressed themselves against a wall as they rounded a corner and attempted to ignore the shouted threats behind them though they did flinch upon hearing the use of their commander's most hated slur. Both were extremely attractive, one had short orange hair and a simple white t-shirt while her companion wore a yellow tank top and a red headband tied over her blue mane with a tan purse on her shoulder. She grinned and adjusted the headband to reveal the symbol of the Arlong Empire, a stylized emblem of a needle-nose shark in blue that was enblazoned on it, while her sister's matching - though crimson - tattoo was still visible through her short sleeve.

"Well Nami, it looks like we're not getting away this time," the blunette stressed mockingly.

"I was getting bored anyway Nojiko," Nami replied.

Nojiko set her beige bag on the ground, opened it and searched through one section which held at least a dozen scrolls and a few writing plumes, but those were not what she was looking for. From within her shirt Nami pulled out a three-part staff and clicked it's sections into place revealing a weapon about three feet long. While her sibling revealed a short sickle with a two-foot chain attached to a weighted ball on the end opposite the deadly farming implement.

Nami shook her head, "I'm never gonna figure out where you hide that thing."

"Trade secret little sister," Nojiko said with a wink.

"Whatever..."

"It's in my purse idiot."

"Shut up stupid!" Nami hollered and the two were about to get into a deeper argument before the trio of pirates arrived at the scene to interrupt the sibling rivalry. Two held long knives and one had only his fists - though these were admittedly large enough to swallow up either of the girl's entire heads. The pirate whose face was all made up licked his lips as he eyed the pair up and down, though he stopped when he saw their armaments.

Nojiko whipped the chain into a twirl, and wrapped it around the gawking pirate's stunned hands, making him drop his blade.

"You like what you see?" She mocked as she yanked the man toward her and smacked his scalp with the blunt end of her sickle.

"I guess we're starting then..." Nami shrugged and slammed the other knife wielder in the jaw with her staff, and in a moment all that remained standing was the unarmed attacker. He grinned sheepishly but his large nose twitched like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Listen I -" He started, but was abruptly stopped as a weighted ball was launched at his left eye and a wood bo was smashed into the opposite side of his face in a synchronized crash. And then all three pirates were subdued. The bo user smirked as she bent to check for money in their pockets, and Nojiko scolded mockingly, "Miss Nami... Tsk tsk we've been in this town for a day and how many people have you robbed?"

"What can I say - girls gotta eat."

"Girls gotta find a way back to Cocoyashi; We need a boat."

"I know Nojiko, we'll just steal one hehe."

And it was just then that a tiny rowboat appeared, it's Captain waiting for his first crewman ****** to tie what amounted to their pirate ship to the dock. The dark haired leader got out first; his compatriot followed up with an overly dramatic barrel roll across the planks of the quiet dock. Luffy saw the girls first, though his brother's reaction was a great deal more obvious. Sabo went into a hard sprint toward them, waving and shouting, "Hey it's you guys!"

Nami poked Nojiko with her elbow, "I think he sees us."

"I think he's got a boat, and we've got our feminine wiles," Nojiko reminded her sister with a wink, before she started toward the two pirates.

Luffy looked down at the boy's simple transport, noticing a long pipe that sat where Sabo had left it. He shook his head, but started after his sibling. Once Luffy caught up with the rest, the trio had started to meet him as they all decided to walk through town.

Sabo started with a deep bow and tipping his hat, "Ladies, I'm not sure I caught your names, but I'm Sabo and this is my brother Luffy."

Luffy nodded and moved to walk next to Sabo, whose other side was occupied by the blunette rogue. Nami was on the opposite side of the pack, holding Nojiko's bag as she shuffled through the maps and other things within. "I'm Nojiko," said the blunette.

"And I'm Nami."

"Well it's nice to meet you both again, what brings you to Orange Town?"

"We're looking for a boat," Nami said quickly before Nojiko had any chance to say something different.

"Haha! I see - I guess that must be going around then 'cause Luffy and I are looking for a more piraty ship. I guess the rowing is not very becoming for the future King of the Pirates," Sabo nudged his brother then, who merely shrugged the blond boy off.

 _So this kid is really trying to be something,_ Nami thought for a moment but returned to her senses, - _No he's just another no-good pirate. His brother doesn't seem to bright though._ She scowled, a look that was not lost to Sabo's observation. Nor did her sister miss it, while the dark-haired pirate Captain either failed to notice or didn't react whatsoever.

"Well," Nojiko interjected, "Maybe you guys could escort us for a bit after we 'acquire' a boat, then we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Where?" Luffy asked simply.

"Cocoyashi."

Sabo cut in then, "Isn't that where Arlong Park is?"

Nami flinched, but her blue-haired sister quickly responded with a nod, "We're ambassadors for the humans to the Fishman Empire."

Neither brother called Nojiko on her lie, but both silently noticed.

"We can take you," Luffy affirmed.

Then Sabo pulled his brother close to him and said to the rest of the group, "Crew talk for a minute please..."

Nojiko and Nami both gave the sea-faring scalawags some space, walking past them while keeping along the sidewalk. The pale blue-haired woman called as they left the others behind, "We're going to find some place to eat around here - we're starving!"

Sabo gave them the thumbs up, but then turned to Luffy as soon as the girls got out of earshot.

"You didn't forget about your promise to Koby have you?"

"No."

"So what's the plan Captain?! We can't exactly be parading around with 'ambassadors' for the Arlong Empire if we're going to be taking down the King of the East!"

"I don't see why not."

"Those two work with Arlong! They're probably spies or something! They'll find out what they need to know and report right to Arlong as soon as we get them there!"

"Then we'll just have to beat them too."

"It's not that simple Luffy: if they tell Arlong anything about us we'll be at a disadvantage. Or worse - if anybody finds out about you then the whole damned East will be after us!"

"We'll leave the East soon enough. After we kick Arlong's ass we'll leave for the Grand Line and we won't have to ever come back."

There was a long pause before the older of the two decided, "...We had better get back to them before they get worried or suspicious."

The brothers's huddle was ended more abruptly than expected as they heard an ear shattering scream cut through the air like a baker's knife through fresh bread. They kicked themselves into motion, instantly charging toward the direction of the sound: right down the street at the bottom of a hill. The situation was far enough away that the duo couldn't quite make out the particularities but they could see an orange head bobbing next to a blue one, with at least five others in front of them all seeming none too friendly based on context.

However when the boys finally got down there, they were a bit surprised on the exact circumstances that Nami and Nojiko had come to find themselves in. Seven pirates blocked their path toward the bar - though one was already on the floor, teeth crunched into a bloody mass within his opened and swollen lips.

Nojiko groaned, "UGH! You got blood on my shoes you prick!"

She drove a leather sandaled foot into the poor soul's already ruined jaw, then pulled out a familiar chain-kama, and whipped the ball into a dangerous spin staring woefully at the drop of sticky dark crimson on her shoe as she did so. Nami followed suit with her three-section staff from within her shirt and the two began to make quick work of the remaining toughs.

Knocking one out with a quick swipe to the head with her bo, Nami kicked another in the gut. A swing from her sister's chain whipped and hit three before wrapping around another's hands. Nojiko yanked and kneed the man in the chin as he came toward her in a deft finale. The blunette coiled her chain like a fierce metal serpent, wrapping it in her hands while still giving the ball a little room to swing as both sisters eyed the sole opponent standing. They looked from each other to the enemy, who started to try to back away in horror.

When he turned to run however Sabo appeared at the thug's other side with his arms crossed. This man was shaved bald, some chin stubble and a purple bandana decorated his face and he stumbled onto all fours as he tripped over one of his friends in an attempt to back up again. Nami sadistically licked her lips and patted her staff as she murmured, "We've got some questions for you about your boss."

Wildest Sons

In what would likely have amounted to the shortest and most concise interrogation of all time, the four were told of approximately how many of the Buggy Pirates there were, how big the ship was, how much treasure they were carrying, and they'd been alerted to the fact that the man's captain had some sort of Devil Fruit, as well as where he and the rest of the crew were staying in town. Following the questioning the man was knocked clean out with a precise punch from Nojiko, who had her chain wrapped around her knuckles.

"Where'd you guys learn how to fight like that?" Sabo asked curiously.

Nojiko answered, "Our mom taught us."

Wildest Sons

It was a few minutes walk to the Buggy Pirate Headquarters which was actually a repurposed barber's shop rooftop, completed by a tall technicolor circus tent had been pitched on said roof for what could only be guessed as some odd egotistical advertising. The group gathered in a quick circle, huddled up like bison protecting young except their backs were facing out.

"Let's just rob them then take their ship," Nami suggested.

"We can't just do that, they'll be on our tails as soon as we turn our backs..." Sabo corrected.

"What if we take a hostage," Nojiko wondered.

"That could work," the blond responded, "Nami, you get the treasure while Luffy and I make Hell for the crew."

"What do you want me to do?"

"You've got the most important job - you're going to hold Buggy hostage for us Nojiko."

Wildest Sons

"Hell yes! This will be a flashy base for our crew, we'll start here and fight off those damned dirty fish sticks from here for a while then spread out!" Buggy the Clown declared to his assembled crew. He hadn't seemed to notice the missing members, but he _had_ been pretty occupied in noticing his own glory nearly the entire day after they had successfully taken over the town and run out all of its people. _This is just the beginning of my flashy Buggy Empire!_

 _We didn't even have to use most of my flashy Buggy Balls! Those cowardly villagers all ran off as soon as we shot off a test shot before we made land. And now I'm the proud owner of an entire town - but I'll have to take over the rest of this island. For now we can just have a little celebration, and if those poor bastards come back... - Well they won't be coming back. Even if they make it to Shellstown, Morgan is wayyy too occupied with his base to even_ _ **think**_ _about coming after us. And he knows better than to try and pick a fight with the glorious Buggy!_

Buggy wore a long orange Captain's jacket over his shoulders covering the top of a simple red and white striped t-shirt, a blue scarf around his neck with matching cross bones make-up on his eyes. His melon colored tricorn hat was decorated by his Jolly Roger on the front - which itself was a standard skull with made-up eyes and a bulbous red nose that matched the namesake Captain's own schnoz. He had elfish wooden red clogs on his feet and long socks that came up to where his scarlet shorts ended. At his waist was a simple crimson belt that had six curved knives tucked into it, while his short arms were crossed over his small chest.

"Men - let's load up the Buggy Balls again, we'll light off a big one to celebrate our flashy victory. We've done good today boys! So let's get this party started!" Buggy roared to his crew, but unbeknownst to him a grapple hook was thrown onto the ledge of the roof.

Then out of nowhere - as if the planet itself had intended to interrupt the clown corsair's celebration - the ground shook like Whitebeard himself had decided to ruin Buggy's day.

A building right next to the former barbershop seemed to crumble into the earth, apparently collapsing. All of the pirates were a bit too stunned to try to move to see the remains of the structure each wary of possible aftershocks. Clearly occupied by the odd happening enough to completely miss a blunette woman climbing onto the top of the barbershop from the side, and were also oblivious to her as she pulled up her sister quietly.

Then all Hell broke loose as the quickest to recover of the Buggy Pirates started to walk toward the edge of the building to see the felled complex, or whatever remained of it.

None did, instead bricks started to rain from the sky, a fountain coming from an alley in a cloud so thick none would try to see its source. Then the sound of gunfire hammered through everyone's ears joining along with the thumping noise of bricks meeting rooftops and stonework meeting people. The chaos continued unebedded with those pirates that had not been knocked out by falling bricks ran in helpess circles like headless chickens attempting to understand just what was going on.

Well, the Captain of his namesake crew may not have been screaming or running around in circles along with his men, his jaw was nearly on the floor as he could only watch his men desperately avoid falling debris. He was so entrenched in confusion that he didn't notice Nojiko's approach until he felt cold steel lightly brush across his throat. It was held there by some force behind him. He stiffened, before chortling, "Who do you think you are?"

Nojiko held firm, holding her blade close to his throbbing jugular and tightly gripping his shoulder, she murmurs, "Don't even think about using that Devil Fruit of your's clown."

Then Nami yelled, "Nobody move or my sister will cut your boss's head right off!" Everyone stopped moving, despite the random gunfire on the street and the still precipitating masonry all around them. She hollered louder, "LUFFY! SABO! QUIT IT!" And just as the rifle fell silent and the last brick seemed to fall, another came out of nowhere and smashed right into Nami's foot, which she painfully clutched and screamed, "DAMN IT! Just get up here you idiots!"

Nojiko tensed as Buggy cleared his throat, kicking out the back of his right leg, bringing him to his knees. "Don't try anything stupid clown," Nojiko warned. The hostage taker eased slightly as she saw her sister hold a door open to the roof from within the building and a friendly blond appeared, tipping his hat to the girls and handing Nami a large brown burlap sack. Sabo held his simple rifle in one hand like a twirling baton. Luffy just stood in the doorway, eying all of them as Nami made her rounds. No one even tried to stop her, yet none moved even the slightest inch to assist.

"I will kill this jerk right now!" Nojiko called, but the mottley crew of two pairs of siblings started to hear the beginnings of some odd rumble. None could place it but as it grew louder, it became quite clear they were not as in control of the situation as they would have liked. Sabo tensed, but Luffy only unfolded his arms and let his hands swing minutely by his hips like a ready gunslinger. Sabo held his rifle, waving his gun in everyone's faces and groaning, "What's so funny?" Nami paled as the laughter turned into a chorus of cackles.

Luffy started off from the door, walking toward the orange haired thief, who'd frozen stiff. Just as the dark-haired captain crossed in front of Nojiko and her hostage, the 'hostage's head flew clean off and slammed straight into Luffy's chest. Buggy roared, "I'll kill of you flashy bastards!" At the same time his now decapitated buddy kicked Nojiko in the stomach, knocking her back.

Before he could make another move, the hovering head of the Clown Pirate froze for a moment. His eyes locked with those of the tattoo on the boy he'd just struck. _No, it couldn't be,_ Buggy thought, _Does he take me for an idiot?_ The disembodied head slammed into the younger pirate's chin and squealed, "Nice fake tattoo kid but I've seen better get them men!"

Luffy shook off the blow easily, but everything went to hell in a hand basket as the still conscious Buggy Pirates went after their attempted robbers. The majority of Buggy's body spun around, facing Nojiko who swung her chain and him/it. The chest did a quick dip to the right and managed to duck under the swing, and pulled out six knives from the belt. Three blades in each hand, even headless the body was still threatening as it tossed the cape onto the hat that had been discarded as a consequence of the Clown's surprise counter attack. Nojiko groaned, "You wouldn't hurt a woman would you?"

Buggy snickered as his head returned to his body and three of his men piled on top of Luffy, wrestling with him. He retorted, "What kind of idiot do you take me for?"

And just then, somewhere in the East a simple cook sneezed.

Wildest Son

Steam and smoke filled a cramped and heated kitchen. Waiters called orders that needed filled, chefs screamed meals that had been completed. A broad-chested cook in black boots and an impossibly tall chef's hat on his head. This was a keen eyed old man who without saying a word watched the seamless machine that was his restaurant as it pleased his often less than esteemed clientele.

The smell of sea salt was an always lending a slight flavor to the air of his restaurant, one he appreciated nearly as much as the smells of assorted sauces and roasting meats. Soups were poured, wine was brought out, but something was a bit off. Something that had been an aspect of his business since he'd started, an element that was as much a part of the Baratie as he was, as the ideas that built it.

 _Where is that sensitive idiot?_ Zeff wondered, and walked to his Sous Chef's quarters. He knocked gently before entering, as he figured he knew exactly what the boy was doing. Blond hair cut into a semi-bowl was the first thing the older man saw as a pile of cigarette smoke flowed out through his eyes. Zeff stroked his long and impossibly curled mustache thoughtfully as he stepped into the boy's room.

"Sanji it's still there boy," Zeff said.

A well-dressed blond in a black suit and blue undershirt turned, shutting a wooden box that's contents he'd been looking at *******. He turned to his employer, but Sanji's eyes averted to the man's feet. Zeff knew this was purposeful, and had grown used to his protege's odd habit. The boy's eyes never moved up from his elder's boots, no matter what the conversation or what most would have seen as respectful.

"It's time to get back to work, I'm taking a lunch break you can join me in a half an hour."

"Of course Chef."

"Carne and Patty are fighting again."

Wildest Son

Buggy's head reattached itself to his body, clutching his knives with deathly intent as he raised his hands up for a slash that would likely reduce the trembling Nojiko to ribbons. Just as the Clown attempted to bring down his terrible blades, Nami drove her foot into the back of his leg with an impressive slide kick. He yelped in pain, and Nojiko rolled over and ended up next to Nami.

Meanwhile as Buggy began to confront the thieving sisters, Sabo swung his rifle like a melee club into some members of Buggy's crew. _There's still a couple dozen pirates left,_ Sabo figured, _They're not so tough but there is quite a few of them._ He eyed the massive cannon on the opposite end of the building, but shakes his head as he blocks a punch to his face with his arm. This in turn was replied with a high kick to the pirate's jaw.

Luffy clawed his way ferociously through the three men that had piled on top of him. He growled, "Buggy..."

The Clown Pirate crooned hysterically, "Someone blow these flashy bastards straight to Hell! Load the Buggy Balls!"

These orders went unanswered until a small man scurried over to the cannon, and was about to load a heavy ball into it when a swing from an incoming bo staff knocked him into it and out, dropping the ammunition. At the same time Luffy made his way to Buggy, and grabbed him by the collar. Dark wisps of smoke-like air came up into Buggy's eyes, burning them like wood smoke.

His body fell into pieces, flying around the future King of the Pirates like cloud of furious bats. Cubes slammed into him from various parts of Buggy's body, some held knives and cut into Luffy.

"Where's your Whitebeard now you flashy phony?! Death by a thousand cuts!" Buggy mocked.  
"- _ergh_ \- Shut the Hell up."

Stepping on the grounded feet of his opponent, Luffy's hands filled with black swirling energies. Flowing outwards, all the flying bits of chaos that attempted to overwhelm him froze stiff, unsure of what this odd feeling was. Dread filled all of Buggy's body as he looked, seeing the false pirate grab his feet. Then Buggy felt his body being forced to recompose itself.

As his enemy was forced into a single piece, Luffy slammed his head against Buggy's furiously. Blood choked out of Buggy's mouth onto his enemy's face, but the dark haired boy never let go of his shoulders. Dazed, Buggy wasn't prepared for the knee that knocked the wind of out his abdomen.

 _Where are Cabaji and Mohji? Those damned bastards must still be sleeping on the boat!_ Buggy realized, and seemed to resign himself at least for the moment. He'd dropped his knives when that girl had kicked him, and he hadn't had the chance to grab them. He clenched his fist and went to smack the side of the grappling kid's head, who ducked and drove another knee into Buggy's gut, knocking him to the ground as he finally let go.

Buggy cried a desperate order, "SOMEONE LOAD THE BUGGY BALLS!" Sabo was trying to fight off a few pirates at a time; he was getting tired Luffy realized, and the Captain looked at his other allies that were getting tired as well but faring better than the Buggy Pirates over all. But before Sabo could manage to maneuver himself in front of the cannon, one man managed to crawl over despite a bleeding scalp to the firearm and load the weapon.

The Clown pirate shot his right hand toward a brick, then slammed it into Luffy's head, but he shook it off wearily. He grabbed at Buggy again but the other buccaneer dodged it this time.

"FIRE!" Buggy screamed, and the wounded subordinate lit the wick of the cannon. Everyone looked in horror, freezing. The Buggy Pirates dived off the building, thinking the fall had a higher chance of survival than risking the powerful weapon.

Buggy held Luffy this time, using his power to hold his hands around the boys arms, he was barely concious from the brick to the skull just before. Luffy looked up, seeing the cannon nearly firing. He wrenched his arms away quickly as Buggy let go just before the weapon was firing, as he too ducked behind something. The tent had been destroyed by the rain of bricks that he realized was these idiots doing, but the cannon would have done the same thing so it was no real loss. _Screw that punk with the phony tattoo, try to fool me again flashy bastard... That power is too dangerous though I have to get rid of him now or my Buggy Empire won't have a chance._ Buggy thought as he lobbed a brick again at Luffy, who took it to the back and the cannon went off.

Blackness appeared around the boy in only the briefest of moments before the ball slammed into the darkness, and an explosion went off, destroying the building in it's entirety and sending anyone in front of Luffy to be completely killed, and most knocked back some ways.

When the smoke cleared, Luffy had been thrown far and away from the building, Buggy was completely unconscious as were many of his pirates. Sabo was the first to awaken, he got up shakily and called, "Luffy! LUFFY!"

Desperately searching, he saw a dusty Nami carrying a limping and bruised Nojiko. Nojiko coughed, "I think I see someone over there..."

Sabo raced over to a building that stood behind where the barbershop had been. After finding a pair of feet adorned in worn wooden sandals, the blond crouched and started digging through dust and brick and cement. He groped and shuffled through the dirt and grime, the materials getting stickier as he smelled blood. His brother's broken nose gushed a fountain of blood as he yanked him out of the debris, feeling for a heartbeat.

Finding one, Sabo looked up at the two girls and nodded, grateful tears streaking down his face. "He's - he's alright - but we have to go." They heard shouting and groans in the distance, but Nami and Nojiko hesitated for a moment. But Sabo's tears kept flowing as he carried his wounded sibling in his arms, murmuring, "Please,"

They relented, and the group all ran off into the still dusty street.

 **AN:**

 ***I wanted to come up with a racial slur to be used against Fishmen by Humans.**

 ****I plan to make Sabo Luffy's Quartermaster when the time comes when the Wild Son Pirates come together with some actual numbers when it comes to members, he's literally the 'first mate' as in he is the first crewmember but I want the rank of 'First Mate' to be given to someone else.**

 *****What's in the box?**

 **We're so close to 2,000 views on this story, I hope to get to 2,500 by the time I post the next chapter, so everyone remember to review, follow, favorite just like you've been doing so keep up the good work. As always shout-out to the people who've favorited and followed this story thus far, so thanks to JadeHoliC(whose recently favorited), Loldino(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), Systemofadown65(who favorited), Taiski(who favorited), diwinter(who favorited), firewolf467(who favorited), hoyt(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), midoKchie(who favorited), nur-chan(who favorited** _ **and**_ **followed), seshlover(who favorited), AEthereal Devastation(who followed), Aino Mafin(who followed), (who followed), AmaltheaLuchiaAizen(who followed), apocalyps24(who followed), and colonelguigui(who followed). - If any of you are interested I recently started A song of Ice and Fire fic, it's a Peggy Sue!Ned Stark story I'm desperately in need of a Beta to proofread my chapters for that story and someone to bounce ideas off of.**

 **Thanks everyone, don't worry the next update is coming much sooner than this one, life has been super heavy lately, but this should be a great stress reliever from school and the stuff I've got going at home.**

 **Please remember to read, review, and get your game on!**


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Thanks so much for checking out my story! Hope you enjoy, because I hope to update this story much more frequently, so see you next week!**

Wildest Son

East Blue Saga

Orange Town Part 2/3

Chapter 5

Day 3, Orange Town

Rusty copper dust clouded the streets and alley. The well-dressed, albeit dirty teenager desperately dug through the piles of brick and rubble that had become what was left of the building he and his brother had demolished. His top hat had been long since been discarded to his feet as sweat flowed stickily off his brow. Blond hair was blown out of his eyes as Sabo grew more and more despairing, though he eventually managed to find a limp hand connected to a battered wrist. Continuing to dig, the desperate gentleman pirate retrieved the entirety of his unconscious and battered brother. Two women behind him tried to pull him away, but Sabo kept trying to awaken the injured boy.

He trembled feverishly, "Come on Luffy - Come on... We have to go! You have to get up -"

Black eyes didn't so much as flicker but the slight and shaking elevations of the chest revealed the dapper boy's brother still lived. An orange haired girl shook him out of his stupor saying, "We have to go..."

She pulled at him, but he refused to budge an inch before he carefully hauled his injured sibling into his arms. After that, Sabo allowed himself to be led away by the two frightened women.

Some Time Later

On the street, dozens of pirates bustled about and searched for something or someone with a vengeful hunger. Realizing it would only be a danger for herself and the other hiding asylum seekers - a blue haired woman shut the window blinds in the fourth floor kitchen of a pastel pink building. She wore a scarlet headband with a blue needle-nose shark symbol printed on it, with a simple lemon tank top over her buxom chest. Even after they had coaxed Sabo into joining them in the room, while the sisters watched at the kitchen table the distressed boy could only bring himself to pace back and forth with uncharacteristic nervous energy. Sabo's dusted black jacket had streaks of brick colored soot on the sides that swayed to and fro as he moved, while his ebony pants had fared none the better since they had left the battlefield. Nami wore a white t-shirt and khaki shorts, eating a pear that she sliced with a knife from the table. Nojiko watched the miserable buccaneer walk for several more minutes before gulping and eyeing Nami uncomfortably; Nami shook her head as the siblings had an unspoken conversation.

Tension dispirited the small room. However it wasn't brought about by a single cause, Sabo felt an insurmountable uselessness. His baby brother was unconscious in the next room over, the fact that there was nothing he could do about it squeezed his heart. Nami and Nojiko had very different circumstances that truly tested them. Their guilt was compressed into them by an older vessel. Even with this ever present within her mind the blunette got up and gently touched the boy's shoulders for comfort. Frustrated, Sabo's nostrils flared and his fists clenched.

She soothed, "He's going to be alright - just breath."

Sabo's shoulders sagged as he let out a tired sigh, walking back into the room where his sibling slept. Tucked into a thick maroon blanket - and bandaged up with the cheap yellowed wraps they'd managed to scrounge up from elsewhere inside the building - Luffy loudly wheezed in unconscious contentedness. He watched as his sleeping brother breathed in and out, Luffy's chest quivering a bit as he exhaled. A small emerald pot of bright red flowers sat on the desk that stood next to the inert boy's body. Sabo leaned against the bed as he sat in a simple wooden chair on the same side of the bed as the flowers.

In the kitchen Nojiko sighed, "We have to tell them."

"No - we really don't Nojiko."

"These guys really trust us. Why shouldn't we let them in?"

"Because they won't trust us anymore if we told them."

"They've seen the marks it's just we should -"

"No Nojiko!"

Sabo slumped against the wall as he returned to the kitchen, kneading his own knuckles as he cut in, "So, what exactly do you two do for Arlong?"

Nami and Nojiko nearly jumped in surprise but turned to see the blond man that had joined them. The blue-haired woman couldn't meet Sabo's eyes, but he didn't relent, pressing both as he put his arms on the table the two sisters sat at. Nojiko couldn't bring herself to respond, but the ashamed girl's sister answered for both of them, "We're agents of the Arlong Pirates."

Sabo stiffened - while he was not surprised by this explanation, he swallowed before dryly asking, "Why?"

Nojiko responded nervously, "Our - our mission was to map the sea and the lands of the East in order to help expand the Empire."

"Our island was the first to fall. It was after the Event: the Marines had been long gone - then after his pardon Arlong came to the East. He took over, but he promised we'd be safe from the Terror, that we wouldn't need the Navy. He said he wouldn't have to be afraid anymore," Nami explained.

"He tore through villages that didn't go along with his plan, and forced impossible taxes on everyone; our town could barely make ends meet. But we made a deal with him, Nami would draw the maps and charts and I would negotiate with the people on the islands we traveled to. Our job was to expand the Fishman Empire further and further."

"At the first village we went to after Arlong came, we tried to warn the people there about him. We tried to organize a force to fight him; but he was too strong. The Fishmen butchered the entire town in less than an hour -"

"There was so much blood - so much death."

"Without the Marines, the East is just a sitting duck for pirates*: so we survey the land and the water, and we eventually come back to take the islands as peacefully as possible, warn the people not to resist - to just do what he says. Because that's - it's the only way we're all going to get out of this alive."

"I'm sorry we got you and Luffy involved with us."

Sabo finally cut in, "Don't be. We were going to fight the Arlong Pirates anyway. My Captain - I mean, my brother - made a promise to a friend of ours, that we would take down the Fishmen. We can do this together."

He held out his hand, which Nami took after a moment of hesitation. Nojiko fell into him, squeezing the pirate in a tight embrace. The three sat there, holding each other, comforting each other. Even though their stressors were still there and they all felt that the problems they faced were insurmountable - together it was like they could be enough to face those challenges. In those precious moments of security, it was as if no one or nothing could hurt them. The world became a peaceful, quiet place.

While most would not think to consider a massive feline smashing through the wall to be a clear and present danger, in one fell swoop that very thing quickly became one. Crashing through the wall, a gigantic pale furred lion crushed the table with his impossible weight as he landed on it. Yawning, the purple maned big cat revealed his bloodied, jagged maw. A large collar revealed his name on a paw print tag. 'Richie' got to his feet and eyed the two shaking women as Nojiko was pulling out her kusari gama, spinning her weighted weapon by the long chain to prepare for the inevitable pounce.

Sabo yelled, "Get Luffy out of here!"

Nami ran to the room, trying to carry the still unconscious pirate in her arms. She lugged him out of the bed, while behind her Richie roared at Sabo who called, "Nojiko, get me my pipe and go help Nami!"

Nojiko nodded, whipping her weapon into Richie's nose, and the colossal cat cried out in pain. She ran into the bedroom, and lobbed a long metal staff-like tube to the gentleman pirate, who caught it in one hand and smacked it off the bottom jaw of the monstrous creature, clamping it's jaws shut. Whimpering, Richie smacked the young man into the wall in the spot where his friends would have been, slamming into the plaster mere moments after the two girls had carried his brother away.

Behind the lion, a voice called out, "Ugh - Richie, is that you?" Pulling himself through the gaping hole in the wall, an odd man in a strange white vest that covered his entire chest but left both arms and midriff exposed clambered to his feet. Sabo eyed the man, and again motioned his friends to haul Luffy away. They quickly ran down the stairs, while the well dressed fighter bent and picked up his tall top hat off the floor.

The stranger exclaimed, "Richie! I wasn't sure if it was you up here..."

Eyes rolling, Sabo grunted, "Huh - what the Hell else could have done something like that?"

"Well it could have been some other cat... I didn't know whether or not Richie got indigestion from eating that stupid dog earlier so he might not have been up here -"

An iron pipe smashed into the side of the man's mouth, knocking him into the wall as Sabo leapt at him and kicked at the lion at the same time. Then between the two enemies, Sabo moved so that his back was to the large hole in the wall. The gentleman pirate twirled his pipe around his left hand, ready to fight the both of them.

Wiping blood off his face, the Buggy Pirate got back to his feet angrily. Sabo took in both his enemies, the lion was about twice as tall as the other man, his paws as wide as Sabo's chest.

"How rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself..." The man cleared his throat and declared, "My name is Mohji, Beast Tamer and First Mate of the Buggy Pirates!" He stretched his legs within his blue pants, started tightening his yellow sash around his waist like a belt.

Mohji clenched his fists at his side and roared, "Let's do this Richie!"

Wildest Son

On the streets near the docks, the Buggy Pirates gathered around their flagship. In dark green paint the words 'Big Top' were splayed across the side of the galleon proudly. In front of the ship, the crew sans their Captain stood at attention waiting for their next command. Before the crowd of fighters, a tall green-haired man with an extremely odd haircut rode on a unicycle. Half of the man's hair was uncut, long enough to touch his shoulders - while the other half was shaved into bald stripes. He rolled around, and called, "As Second Mate of the Buggy Pirates, I demand that we burn this town to the ground!"

Men cheered and pulled out whatever weapons they had: some bore pistols and others brandished blades of varying sizes, while even fewer held long rifles in their hands. The Second Mate bounced around on his unique mode of transportation and threw his blue-and-white checkered scarf (along with the longer portion of his hair) behind him. Leading the charge, the pirates soon ran in two wings around the zooming swordsman, who pulled out his blade with righteous fury. "Let's avenge our Captain! Turn this town to rubble before Captain Buggy wakes up! This will be our gift to him!"

Wildest Son

Nami and Nojiko heard a thunderous stampede of dozens of harlequin-themed sea raiders as they attempted to raze the village entirely. They hid Luffy behind some crates in an alley - leaning his body against the dark bricks of the shadowed wall. When a strange man on a unicycle swooped past them angrily, the sisters walked to the end of the backstreet in an attempt to survey the odd scene. Peeking out from within the edge of the alley, the sisters watched in horror as the uncountable number of pirates started breaking windows and setting buildings ablaze to one side and as they turned around, they watched the odd swordsman until he suddenly screeched to a stop.

Whipping around suddenly, the man dashed toward the girls, who ducked into the alley quickly. Nami murmured, "We can't just hide here Nojiko."

"I know," Her sister agreed.

"I'll go low," Nami offered.

"I'll go high..."

Leaping into the sunlight, the siblings pulled their respective weapons out. Holding her sickle tightly, Nojiko got ready to slash at the man, who charged at them shouting angrily, "You both will die!"

With tremendous strength, his long sword attempted to slash at both their necks, but was stopped by Nojiko's own blade. She held tight, though she shook as the stronger man pressed further. Nami went to smash her staff into the man's side, only for a kick to knock her into the dirt street. Nojiko looked to her fallen sister a bit too quickly, and the swordsman wrenched his steel free and smacked his enemy in the head with the dull end of his blade.

Rolling back to join her then standing sister in arms, Nojiko winced as she wiped blood off her forehead. Nami patted her partner's shoulder, she grinned and tiredly said, "This is probably gonna be tougher than this asshole looks..."

Nojiko steadied herself, only for the swordsman to set his blade onto the ground. He cracked his knuckles and declared, "I am Cabaji the Acrobat, and I refuse to allow my crew and Captain to be disgraced by some Arlong Empire bi-"

Cut off by a bloody spear blade punching through his exposed chest, Cabaji looked down at his own lifeblood as the fresh wound dripped with crimson ooze. He tried to turn around, twisting his unicycle about - only to fall off his vehicle next to his sword. At his back, a long grey-haired man yanked his wooden handled weapon out of the then downed pirate. He wore a thick yellow flannel shirt with wooden plate armor around his torso.

The girls smiled and cheered with surprise, with Nojiko hooted, "Thanks Old Man!"

Barely seeming to notice the women, the old man watched as blood flowed out of both ends of the wound he delivered the uni-cyclist.

He grunted, "If you both want to live, you'd best be getting the Hell out of my town."

Brushing past them, his shoulders slumped as he noticed the sheer number of the vicious privateers that had begun smashing and burning the buildings of Orange Town.

Nami grabbed his shoulder and cried out, "Wait there's no way you'll be able to handle all of them!"

The Old Man turned around, growling, "I told you to get the Hell outta here! I'm in no mood to deal with Arlong's lackeys... I've got pirates to deal with right now - so I'll let you both go back to your Fishman Empire and tell that fish-stick bastard what for!"

Nojiko gulped, "Who are you Old Man?"

He gripped his spear tightly, seeming like at any moment he'd whip around and jab at the two women. "I'm Boodle, and I was the Mayor of this town. We were preparing for years for Arlong, but as you can see we weren't ready for anything. Even so, until I'm dead, I won't let anyone take this place."

"You can't think you'll be able to beat those guys -" Nami worriedly responded.

"Doesn't matter - I failed. All the townsfolk are halfway to Shells Town by now - maybe Morgan's base can save them. But I don't know anything for sure any more. I had no idea what kind of monsters are in this sea now. Since the Event, I worried we'd just be sitting ducks - so I guess I was right."

"... What do you mean Mayor?"

"Don't call me that! You have no idea how hard it's been for us regular people! Orange Town was built by some of the hardest working people I've ever met. We came from far and wide - just folks looking for a fresh start. Eventually we built this town with no more than the lumber on the island and the sweat off our backs."

"So, you just wanna die then?" Nojiko asked.

"I don't want anything anymore. I'm going to die fighting some clown's sea wretches, and I'm fine with that. I let my people down, and it's only a matter of time before this town gets wrecked anyway. Go ahead, go back to Arlong and tell him how easy this place will be to take. But he won't find any of my people here to kill. We all heard what happened to Gosa... There's no way we could ever stand up against damned Fishmen. But maybe my people can live a bit longer elsewhere..."

Nami held the man's arm, only for him to resentfully yank his limb away as if her finger tips were alight. She whispered, "We aren't with," But when the old Mayor fell like his legs were kicked out from under him, Nojiko slammed her weight shoe into the flexing leg that had done the deed to poor Boodle. Smashing Cabaji's knee, she then watched as Nami bashed her staff into the man's nose. Unconscious, the acrobat finished bleeding into the dirt**.

Struggling back to his weakened feet, the Mayor spat, "Don't think that means I owe you. That bastard was barely kicking..."

He chuckled at his own joke, before he slung his spear across his back. Bending down, Boodle clutched at the handle of Cabaji's sword, struggling with it's weight. Then prepared for battle, the Mayor of a town of none started to walk toward the impossible mob of ferocious pirates.

Wildest Son

Though his right eye was swollen shut and his left arm hung loosely limp at his side, Mohji's tenacious eyes flickered back and forth from his blond enemy to the gaping hole. Richie was no better off than his partner, as many of the lion's claws had been broken off. He licked at his injured paws until Mohji angrily snapped his right hand, returning the giant cat to attention. Across from them, Sabo skillfully shifted from side to side, ready for the moment when either of his enemies decided to strike. He was in much better shape than his enemies, though he had needed to set his jacket down, hanging it on one of the pipes that had been exposed by Richie's crash through the wall, his hat rested on top of the folded piece of clothing. Bare-chested, Sabo's slight puff of blond curls matched the golden locks that sat on his scalp which gently moved with the breeze of his pipe spinning in his right hand.

Breaking the stillness, Mohji dove at Sabo in a tackle, who responded with a duck and grabbed his jacket and hat with his left hand at the same time as he managed to back flip. During his move, Sabo drove his boot into Mohji's chin, throwing the man through the window of a building across the street with his impressive kick.

As the blond fell from the building as a result of this attack, Richie lunged out toward Sabo as well, claws extended and mouth open wide, attempting to bite and slash while the two were still airborne. Jaws nearly snapping Sabo's arm off, as the two fell he stuck his pipe in the cat's mouth, forcing his maw to remain wide open. Still in the air with one swift motion, Sabo stomped onto the lion's lower lip and used his momentum to both force his enemy down and himself up, landing on the tremendous feline's head.

They crashed soundly into the street - with Sabo still standing tall on top of his unconscious opponent. Dusting his black pants off, the boy bent to place his hat back onto his head and hold his long jacket. Sabo stepped off the lion with satisfaction, and looked to the docks where he heard the clatter of an angry pirate mob. He watched the smoke billow out of the structures closest to the end of town, and eagerly set off toward the crowd.

Wildest Son

Within the Captain's Quarters of the Big Top, Buggy was tucked into a thick lime blanket, warm and satisfied. Sucking on his thumb, he occasionally whimpered as he snored through his bulbous broken nose. The Clown Pirate's make up was incredibly smudged with dirt and soot as his blackened fingers separated themselves from his hands as he exhaled - while with each inhalation the digits returned to their respective knuckles.

Eyes shooting open out of nowhere, Buggy furiously declared, "I WILL KILL THAT FLASHY BASTARD!"

Wildest Son

The sprinting gentleman pirate slid to a stop as he came to meet the girls. Nojiko blushed as she noticed the blond's lack of clothing, while Nami asked, "What are you doing without your shirt?"

"Oh - I got pretty sweaty during my fight so..." As he said this, Sabo seemed to see the bloodied corpse that rested next to an overturned unicycle. Motioning to put his jacket back on, Nojiko quickly held his arm down, hissing, "Don't!"

It was in that awkward moment when Sabo first noticed an old man that was leaning against the corner of the non-descript crate filled alley the girls stood in front of. Of course, the old man had been bound with rope and gagged with a dirty looking rag but was otherwise unharmed. Curious, Sabo asked, "What's his deal? He doesn't look like much of a clown pirate -"

Nojiko explained, "He's the Mayor of this town, he took down the Second Mate but tried to go after the rest of Buggy's crew..."

Struggling against his bonds, the Mayor attempted to hatefully spit at the speaking girl. Of course, still gagged Boodle failed to do so and grumpily slouched into his former position.

"We should untie him so he can help, he might be old but we could use all hands on deck for this one," Sabo put in, only for a few boxes to clatter to the ground.

A quick punch to the head knocked the Old Man out, and a bruised pirate kid stood with his friends. Serious blackened eyes looked to what made up his one-man crew, and Luffy grunted, "He would have just gotten in the way."

Dropping his bandage wraps, Luffy's battered upper body was revealed. The boy's muscled though purpled stomach went in and out in time with his tattooed chest, and his arms tensed as he heard the chaos throughout the town. Swashbuckling sea raiders began to funnel toward the group, only for Sabo and the two Arlong Pirate sisters to knock the attacking marauders with their respective weapons.

"Let's finish this," Luffy muttered, and started walking toward the Big Top, as if he didn't even see the dozens of pirates rushing toward him.

 **AN:**

 ***This might be something to take note of, the Marines are bad and Arlong is worse but you never know what kind of freaks could be out in the world.**

 ****The world is a much harsher place than in canon, especially within the East, and I hope this scene reflects that. Characters don't have much time to show their own personality quirks, this is battle and everyone knows they could be wiped out anytime. The Fishmen, or worse, the Terror could arrive and end it all.**

 **(R &R)**

 **Freddo Fraud(Rev): "actual numbers when it comes to members"**

 **So it's just gonna be a cluster fuck of random characters who get fuck all development like in Fairy Tale? What's the fucking point of making it much larger than the original crew?**

 **Why did you make Luffy struggle in the Buggy fight? For a person who was trained under the WB and has the strongest logia he is really fucking weak**

 **"Wild Son Pirates" sounds really stupid honestly**

 **(Res): I appreciate the criticisms, as they are a means of increasing the skill behind my writing, but of course I have responses to all of these questions. I did not mean to insinuate that I would have an absolutely massive crew, I merely meant to say that as it stands now even if you count Nami and Nojiko (who are no more than allies), there are 4 members of the crew. There will probably be a few more members of the crew than in canon, but I assure you I do not plan to shirk any development for any of the crew members. The point of making it larger would be to show Luffy's more mature and thoughtful nature within this story compared to the canon. 9 crew members is extremely small for a pirate crew, though Shanks has slightly more than that many in canon - but I assure you Luffy's crew will not have the Fairy Tail Guild's numbers. But here's a more practical reasoning behind Luffy's forming a larger crew: Whitebeard has a massive Armada, so its reasonable to assume one of his mentees would follow suit.**

 **Luffy struggled in his fight against Buggy for a myriad of reasons. For one: he's not as fast, as strong, or as durable as he is in canon and he likely underestimated Buggy as he's never really struggled against other opponents. The reason the fight ended as it did was because he was more focused on his friends than on his own well-being, and failed to completely absorb the Buggy Ball explosion.**

 **He was not trained by Whitebeard any more than he was trained by Shanks, he was mentored by him - though at the furthest maybe you could consider that he 'sparred' with Newgate the one time as it was described in this story. He may have the strongest Logia, but that doesn't mean he's invincible, he doesn't even have the standard Logia intangibility. The rematch next chapter will end much differently that I can assure you.**

 **And to address your final point, I am actually open to suggestions for the name of Luffy's crew as I have not really settled on one yet.**

 **Well, there's that chapter, see you next time when Luffy and Buggy finish their showdown and the Orange Town Arc comes to an end. See y'all next week and please remember to read, review, and get your game on!**


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